Managing vegetarianism: Identities, norms and interactions

Abstract

Vegetarians exclude various forms of animal‐derived foods from consumption, and consequently must use special strategies to make food choices and present their food decisions to others. This study investigated the ways people following vegetarian diets managed their food choices and negotiated their interactions with others. Qualitative methods were used to interview 19 self‐identified vegetarians recruited by snowball sampling. Many respondents followed vegan diets, but the majority consumed some form of animal foods. The vegetarians in this sample self‐consciously labeled themselves ‘Vegetarians,” and adopted and used a vegetarian identity that included normative behavioral expectations. To manage social interactions, vegetarians sometimes ate animal‐derived foods not in their usual diets in particular situations and used explanations in the form of accounts and discounting in constructing justifications for those behaviors. Understanding management of vegetarianism as a process reveals barriers and enabling factors for dietary practices that differ from those of the predominant society.