Beyond the Choice of What You Put in Your Mouth: A systematic mapping review of veganism and vegan identity

Individuals can have various and diversified motives for becoming vegan including health-related, environmental, animal and social justice. Hence, a definition focused solely on diet does not capture the different levels of veganism. With the transformative nature of vegan identity that goes beyond the vegan diet itself, the motives become converged to political and social justice-oriented aspects of veganism, which reflects the intersectional nature of the movement.

SARA VERSTERGREN: Veganism is described in various ways by non-vegans, often referring to what vegans do not eat. However, vegans generally refer to veganism as a political philosophy based on the rejection of the commodity status of animals or as part of an environmentally sustainable ideology. Although veganism is considered extreme by many people, veganism is gradually becoming a widespread phenomenon not only in western societies but across cultures around the world. However, among scholars, there is sparse focus on the political, collective, and social movement aspects of veganism. Understanding the wider dimensions of veganism on an ideological and collective level is important in our understanding and application of an environmentally sustainable lifestyle.

Vegan identity can be understood as a shared social identity with rejection of the product-status of animals and the intersectional justice movement against animal exploitation and speciesism as part of identity content. The social identity approach suggests that our group memberships, the social categories we perceive to be part of, make significant contributions to how we see ourselves and our worldview. Some social categories and group memberships become salient in our daily lives as we perceive our worldview through that categorization. Hence, our identification as part of the social category vegans will affect our values and behaviors in all social contexts where appropriate. Consequently, vegan identity and veganism goes beyond the choice of diet (plant-based) to incorporate veganism as an identity characteristic influencing actions and values derived from norms of the social identity.

However, whether veganism is part of a social identity, or a social identity in itself is likely to depend on the social context. For example, veganism can be part of social identity content, you might be an animal-rights activist and reject harm to animals in all forms which makes veganism part of your animal-rights identity. Importantly, vegan identity includes social values and norms, and should thereby be seen as more than a dietary choice or identity. What veganism includes might depend on the salient social identity, such as values and behaviors tied to feminism, environmentalism, or animal-rights. Furthermore, veganism is often expressed through actions in relation to others, and not only oneself or one’s own group. For example, Judge et al. emphasize in their Social Identity Model of Vegan Activism (SIMVA) that vegan identity also includes an active component of trying to promote vegan norms to others which goes beyond the food you put in your mouth.

Individuals can have various and diversified motives for becoming vegan including health-related, environmental, animal and social justice. Hence, a definition focused solely on diet does not capture the different levels of veganism. With the transformative nature of vegan identity that goes beyond the vegan diet itself, the motives become converged to political and social justice-oriented aspects of veganism, which reflects the intersectional nature of the movement. It is also important to acknowledge that social identities can develop based on a perception of shared reactions or struggle to/in a situation. Hence, the current climate crisis could provide a context where a shared identity around the climate emerges, which contains veganism as a shared value and behavioral norm. Hence, veganism can be part of an opinion-based identity, through people defining themselves as a group based on shared opinions.

In recent years, social psychologists have turned attention to the study of veganism and vegan identity. Recent theorizing has highlighted psychological similarities between human intergroup relations and human-animal relations, and addressed human-animal relations in terms of intergroup interaction/relations. Previous studies mainly focus on the role of conservatism, system justification, or social dominance orientation, in relation to meat consumption, prejudice against vegan and vegetarians, speciesism, animal welfare concerns, and support for animal rights. However, veganism has been found to be an important part of some activist identities and social movements. Although personality or ideology constructs such as Social Dominance Orientation (SDO), Right-Wing Authoritarianism (RWA), and conservatism can explain some behaviors or behavioral intentions such as meat-eating or not meat-eating that are considered as related to veganism or anti-veganism, these are not sufficient to explain veganism or vegan identity itself. An identity-focused approach, as outlined above, can offer a more comprehensive explanation in relation to becoming vegan as well as sustaining the vegan identity by going beyond the facilitators of veganism-related behaviors.

We believe that a systematic mapping review is needed to summarize the findings and identify the gaps in social psychological studies of veganism and vegan identity. These gaps are of importance to identify, not only for vegan activism and movement but also for sustainable living in relation to the environment and climate crisis… Through a systematic mapping review of the literature on veganism and vegan identity within the social psychological field of research we identified a data set of 26 papers published between 2010 and 2021. This review is not intended to gather and outline all studies on veganism and vegan identity, as there are studies within different disciplines such as sociology and nutrition. This review constitutes a comprehensive account of social psychological studies identified using general key terms related to veganism.

Through analyzing the papers thematically, we created four categories of study focus and content: stigmatization of vegans, role of ideology in negative attitudes toward vegans, role of moral and ethical beliefs in changing or sustaining veganism, and veganism as a social movement and vegan activism, and conclude that there are four main gaps in the literature that needs addressing in future studies: merging all non-meat eaters, reduction of veganism to dietary choices or lifestyle, lack of processes underlying emergence and endurance of veganism, and decontextualization of vegan identity. We argue that filling these gaps are fundamental on several levels.

Firstly, in addressing the climate crisis and fighting it we need to focus on both individual and collective solutions. Providing research of for example sustainable living (incl. diet) would be facilitated by understanding the wider identity content and context to facilitate individual and collective action. Secondly, in an increasingly “unhealthy” world there is a need to focus on more healthy living in terms of individual diets. Dietary recommendations and research should include processes of emergence and endurance of such diets, and how the importance of a social dimension needs to be included. Thirdly, identities are not stable, they vary depending on the social context and are influenced by the intersectionality of other identities.

These elements, variability and intersectionality, need to be further explored to advance not only theorizing around shared identities but also in terms of fighting prejudice, climate crisis, inequalities. Finally, throughout our systematic mapping review, as well as our own theorization there is still an elephant present in the room. The importance of understanding veganism in a social and political perspective is clear, as well as the relation to a minoritised, politicized, opinion-based identity. However, what still is not clear, and needs to be addressed further, is whether vegan identity is the framework for a shared identity or part of the identity content in related social identities (e.g., climate change activist identity). SOURCE…

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