Vegans, raw foodists, lacto-vegetarians are among the opponents of animal food today, almost every tenth inhabitant of the planet. But these figures alone do not explain why soybean patty and vegetable lovers evoke strong emotions from opponents who declare them hypocrites or hypocrites. Social psychologist Gordon Hodson explains the reason for hatred and … fear.
One woman placed stickers on the bumper of her car that unambiguously indicate her vegan principles. Among the inscriptions are: “If you love animals, you don’t eat them”, “Be kind, be a vegan”, “Friends, not food”. One sticker shows a dog and a cow asking the question, “Why do you love one and eat the other?”
Because of these inscriptions, insulting words are constantly shouted at the woman, pieces of meat and other objects are thrown into her car, and they are pushed to the side of the road. She worries not only for herself, but also for her children. Whatever lifestyle you lead and whatever diet you follow, you will probably agree that this is a sad state of affairs.
At the Brock University Research Lab, we studied prejudice and discrimination against vegetarians and vegans (combine them with the symbol «v&v»). And here are the main facts confirmed by our recent research.
1. The society is really biased towards «c&c». We’ve found that the prejudice that meat eaters have against «B&B» is as big as intolerance for immigrants, and even stronger than racism.
2. Society is more critical of strict vegans than vegetarians, but the most negative, contemptuous attitude has developed towards male vegans, whom conservative Internet users pejoratively call «soy boys». Obviously, a man’s choice of tofu over bloody steak is perceived as an abnormal behavior that defies traditional gender norms.
The vegan lifestyle is perceived as a reproach to the values of the majority and therefore provokes resistance.
3. Meat-eaters are especially hostile to those who refuse to eat meat on principle (say, from not wanting to harm animals), compared to those who choose a plant-based diet because of the characteristics of their body.
This suggests that anti-vegan biases are defensive in nature, serving as a defense of their beliefs. The vegan lifestyle is perceived as a reproach to the values of the majority and therefore provokes resistance. That is, the reasons why someone does not eat meat is an important factor in determining the degree of bias.
4. Diversity eaters who perceive vegan and vegetarian choices as a threat to society and culture eventually come to believe that livestock and wild animals are not very worthy of care and protection.
5. B&Bs feel isolated and discriminated against, even from friends and family.
6. Having decided to abstain from eating meat, conservatives (unlike liberals) are likely to return to animal food again. This is partly due to a lack of support within their social group and appears to reflect concerns about possible stigmatization.
Why does someone else, refusing to eat animals, give you so much grief?
7. The more actively a person advocates meat-eating and cannot imagine his diet without barbecue or steak, the more prejudice against vegetarians he demonstrates. Literally, the amount of beef eaten predicts the degree of anti-vegetarian sentiment. This gives grounds to assume that the protest mood serves as a defense, and does not simply reflect hostility towards a person from another, «foreign» group.
8. Visual reminders that the source of meat is specific animals reduce negative attitudes towards vegetarians. A person who looks at images of turkeys and cows increases empathy for these animals, and the feeling of threat posed by vegans loses its sharpness.
The experiences shared by the woman with the bumper stickers are alarming: her willingness to be open about her position has real and quite dramatic consequences for her and her family, as well as for our society as a whole. If you find yourself irritated, angry, or embarrassed at the sight of a car-friendly bumper sticker on a nearby car, then you might want to pull over to think more deeply about your feelings and their consequences.
Why does someone else, refusing to eat animals, give you so much grief? What does this tell you about yourself and your place in the world? Perhaps you are experiencing an internal conflict: on the one hand, you love animals and believe that you are a good person, but on the other hand, some of your decisions and actions are probably somehow contrary to your own internal principles of not harming others.
The reproaches and irritation that you bring down on other people will not help much in resolving such conflicts and finding inner peace, but most likely will only increase discomfort. We could all benefit from a thoughtful conversation with others about the world we want to live in and the memories we want to leave for our grandchildren.
About the author: Gordon Hodson is a social psychologist and Professor of Psychology at Brock University, Canada, where he directs the Intergroup Process Research Laboratory. He specializes in the study of stereotypes, prejudice, and discrimination, focusing on individual differences, dehumanization, and emotions (such as disgust and empathy). With colleague Christoph Dhont, he wrote the book Why We Love and Exploit Animals.