Social and ethical perspectives on vegan and vegetarian lifestyles

This Collection supports and amplifies research related to SDG 13 - Climate Action and SDG 15 - Life on Land.

People become vegan, vegetarian or follow other diets that restrict meat or animal-based foods for numerous reasons, including religious conviction, health, animal welfare or the environment, or social identity. Among these motivators, ethical or moral concerns for the negative environmental impact of animal-based products are growing. Many studies have shown that the reducing meat consumption is one of the most impactful ways individuals can contribute to reducing their carbon footprint, freshwater use and biodiversity loss. This collection seeks submissions that examine the relationship between veganism/vegetarianism with environmental discourse, as well as social, ideological, psychological and political influences of such diets.

Research is welcome about a range of topics, including: 

• Socio-political or ethical-moral motivations of vegans and vegetarians 
• Analysis of online/popular/political discourse about climate change and diets 
• Representation of vegan/vegetarianism in media, including literature, film, TV, and online streaming – and their cultural impact.  
• Online and digital culture about veganism/vegetarianism, including activism, campaigns, memes, and viral discussions. 
• Philosophical perspectives on ethics and morals of vegan/vegetarian choices; non-anthropocentric ethics (eg: biocentrism, ecocentrism)  
• Social, psychological and structural influences on meat-based food consumption or vegan/vegetarian attitudes 
• Experiences of vegan/vegetarians, such as finding community or feeling discrimination 
• Food choice as social identity; greater social and cultural repercussions 
• Perception of vegetarians and vegans by others, acceptance by society 
• Perception on sustainability, ethics, values by those following restricted diets 
• Regional differences of veganism and vegetarianism globally  
• Intersectional approaches, including comparison of socio-economic, geographic, gender, ethnic diversity in the attitudes and perceptions of vegan/vegetarianism 
• social inequalities shape efforts to address climate change through food consumption. 

We are not seeking papers that focus on agricultural/food processing studies; marketing to consumers about certain diets; nutritional science about health impacts of diets; life science studies about impact of human diets on the environment.  

While we welcome inter-/multi-disciplinary studies, the main fields that we consider relevant for this collection are human behaviour, psychology, philosophy, anthropology, ethics, media studies, cultural studies, sociology, political science, and discourse analysis.