The research shows that women are more concerned about the welfare of animals than men. They are more likely to be involved in the animal rights movement and to be opposed to animal research. Women donate more money than men to humane organizations, and there are 10 times as many female than male researchers in the field of anthrozoology (the study of human-animal relationships). The results suggest that campaigns focusing on the environmental costs of carnivory may appeal more to men, while women could be more affected by ethically-oriented information.
HAL HERZOG: The Vegetarian Resource Group has, for 30 years, periodically commissioned national polls on what Americans eat. In 1994, 1% of their respondents said they did not eat any kind of animal flesh. By 2022, the percentage of Americans who were vegetarian or vegan had jumped six-fold. A new study suggests that women have almost entirely driven the shift toward plant-based diets in the United States in recent years.
John Nezlek and Catherine Forsetell conducted the research, and their results were published in an article in the journal Sex Roles. Their paper described the results of two studies. The first study tracked gender differences in dietary shifts among 13,000 students at the College of William & Mary over 15 years. The second study focused on gender differences in the reasons their subjects had given up meat…
Why are there more women vegetarians than men vegetarians in the United States, and why does this gender difference seem to be growing? Nezlek and Forestall point out that women are more concerned about the welfare of animals than men. They are, for example, more likely to be involved in the animal rights movement and to be opposed to animal research. Women donate more money than men to humane organizations, and there are 10 times as many female than male researchers in the field of anthrozoology — the study of human-animal relationships…
These results are based on the dietary decisions of college students, and the degree they can be generalized to larger adult populations is unclear. The implications of the research, however, are important. Nezlek and Forestell suggest that effective interventions aimed at reducing meat consumption might differ for men and women. Campaigns focusing on the environmental costs of carnivory may appeal more to men, while women could be more affected by ethically-oriented information…
Are these gender differences a matter of nature or nurture? The answer is both. On the nature side, gender differences in concern for animals seem to be culturally widespread, if not universal… In a 2021 cross-cultural study of university students, found men consume more meat than women in 20 of 23 nations. (The exceptions were China, Indonesia, and India)… Behavior genetic studies have also found that individual differences in the desire to eat meat reflect the complex dance between heredity and environment. SOURCE…
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