People seem to always have meat with vegans, and scientists say they have discovered why.
A new study published in Food Quality and Preference magazine discovered that the typical hatred of their carnivore towards vegans could simply be due to envy.
Researchers at the University of Vaasa in Finland wanted to understand why a diet based on plants and the use of meat substitutions are still so poorly seen in Europe.
“The consumption of meat and meat substitutes is a highly loaded social phenomenon,” said Roosa-Malaria Malila, author of the study, in a statement. “According to our research, consumers who prefer plants -based alternatives are perceived as socially different and not in good sense.”
The team requested 3,600 participants from Finland, the United Kingdom, Germany and Sweden to give their opinions about a fictional consumer, based on their grocery purchase habits.
Participants were shown three different shopping lists. All lists included the same five basic foods: pasta, bread, apple juice, carrots and bananas, but varied according to the inclusion or exclusion of protein products based on animals and vegetables.
A list was for a meat dining room, including articles such as minced meat, cold cuts and sausages. The “flexible” list had a mixture of meat and plant -based items, such as chicken rolls and vegetable sausage. The third list was heavy in meat substitutes, such as meatballs based on vegetarian vegetables and sausages.
The research found that the imaginary buyers who preferred vegetarian foods were people who are very friendly with whom they are competent, aware of health and moral.
However, the participants also bother the false dining rooms of fake meat, which takes feelings of fear, envy, contempt and anger.
“In our research, we found that people just wanted to act aggressively towards vegetarians or exclude them from social circles,” Malila shared.
The researchers explained that mixed thesis feelings reflect the “predominant climate” of understanding the need to minimize meat consumption for environmental reasons.
“Understandable, changing one’s consumption habits is not so simple. This can be reflected in frustration and channel through those who are already driving change,” they wrote.
“Whether for the course, the fear of giving up the benefits obtained also causes similar feelings, although a vegetarian diet does not really have to be a commitment, but the image around it can be perceived as such.”
There are a variety of reasons why people choose not to reach meat substitutions while buying groceries, as a price or taste, but according to the study, the main reason seems to be a lack of social acceptability.
“Food is a fairly strong part of our social identity. Yes and when vegetarian food evokes negative feelings, not many people because risking to associate with it,” Malila explained.
“Belonging to a group is an evolutionary motive. We need the acceptance of our human beings.”