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You are what you eat? Vegetarianism, health and identity

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  • Fox, Nick
  • Ward, Katie J.

Abstract

This paper examines the views of 'health vegetarians' through a qualitative study of an online vegetarian message board. The researcher participated in discussions on the board, gathered responses to questions from 33 participants, and conducted follow-up e-mail interviews with 18 of these participants. Respondents were predominantly from the United States, Canada and the UK. Seventy per cent were female, and ages ranged from 14 to 53 years, with a median of 26 years. These data are interrogated within a theoretical framework that asks, 'what can a vegetarian body do?' and explores the physical, psychic, social and conceptual relations of participants. This provides insights into the identities of participants, and how diet and identity interact. It is concluded that vegetarianism is both a diet and a bodily practice with consequences for identity formation and stabilisation.

Suggested Citation

  • Fox, Nick & Ward, Katie J., 2008. "You are what you eat? Vegetarianism, health and identity," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 66(12), pages 2585-2595, June.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:socmed:v:66:y:2008:i:12:p:2585-2595
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Nicola Illingworth, 2001. "The Internet Matters: Exploring the Use of the Internet as a Research Tool," Sociological Research Online, , vol. 6(2), pages 79-90, August.
    2. Peter Chen & S.M. Hinton, 1999. "Realtime Interviewing Using the World Wide Web," Sociological Research Online, , vol. 4(3), pages 63-81, September.
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    Cited by:

    1. Allison Christopher & John P. Bartkowski & Timothy Haverda, 2018. "Portraits of Veganism: A Comparative Discourse Analysis of a Second-Order Subculture," Societies, MDPI, vol. 8(3), pages 1-21, July.
    2. Carfora, V. & Caso, D. & Conner, M., 2017. "Correlational study and randomised controlled trial for understanding and changing red meat consumption: The role of eating identities," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 175(C), pages 244-252.
    3. Stead, Martine & McDermott, Laura & MacKintosh, Anne Marie & Adamson, Ashley, 2011. "Why healthy eating is bad for young people's health: Identity, belonging and food," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 72(7), pages 1131-1139, April.
    4. Khanijou, Ratna & Cappellini, Benedetta & Hosany, Sameer, 2021. "Meal for two: A typology of co-performed practices," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 134(C), pages 675-688.
    5. Fernqvisr, Fredrik & Goransson, Caroline, 2020. "Future and recent developments in the retail vegetable category – a value chain and food systems approach," International Food and Agribusiness Management Review, International Food and Agribusiness Management Association, vol. 24(1), July.
    6. Klaudia Modlinska & Dominika Adamczyk & Dominika Maison & Wojciech Pisula, 2020. "Gender Differences in Attitudes to Vegans/Vegetarians and Their Food Preferences, and Their Implications for Promoting Sustainable Dietary Patterns–A Systematic Review," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(16), pages 1-17, August.
    7. Jana Krizanova & Jorge Guardiola, 2023. "Conceptualizations of Happiness and Vegetarianism: Empirical Evidence from University Students in Spain," Journal of Happiness Studies, Springer, vol. 24(4), pages 1483-1503, April.
    8. Jinsoo Hwang & Heather (Markham) Kim & Jinkyung Jenny Kim, 2023. "Examining the Importance of Motivation and Its Impact on Outcome Variables in the Context of Edible Insect Restaurant," SAGE Open, , vol. 13(2), pages 21582440231, June.
    9. Fielding-Singh, Priya, 2019. "You're worth what you eat: Adolescent beliefs about healthy eating, morality and socioeconomic status," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 220(C), pages 41-48.
    10. Sirieix, Lucie & Séré de Lanauze, Gilles & Dyen, Margot & Balbo, Laurie & Suarez, Erick, 2023. "The role of communities in vegetarian and vegan identity construction," Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, Elsevier, vol. 75(C).
    11. Einhorn, Laura, 2020. "Normative social influence on meat consumption," MPIfG Discussion Paper 20/1, Max Planck Institute for the Study of Societies.
    12. Eimear Leahy & Seán Lyons & Richard S. J. Tol, 2011. "Determinants of Vegetarianism and Meat Consumption Frequency in Ireland," The Economic and Social Review, Economic and Social Studies, vol. 42(4), pages 407-436.
    13. Lombardini, Chiara & Lankoski, Leena, 2011. "An Economic-Psychological Model of Sustainable Food Consumption," 2011 International Congress, August 30-September 2, 2011, Zurich, Switzerland 114403, European Association of Agricultural Economists.
    14. Andrews, Gavin J. & Duff, Cameron, 2019. "Matter beginning to matter: On posthumanist understandings of the vital emergence of health," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 226(C), pages 123-134.
    15. Charry, Karine & Tessitore, Tina, 2021. "I tweet, they follow, you eat: Number of followers as nudge on social media to eat more healthily," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 269(C).
    16. Ceuterick, Melissa & Vandebroek, Ina, 2017. "Identity in a medicine cabinet: Discursive positions of Andean migrants towards their use of herbal remedies in the United Kingdom," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 177(C), pages 43-51.
    17. Johannes Simons & Carl Vierboom & Jeanette Klink-Lehmann & Ingo Härlen & Monika Hartmann, 2021. "Vegetarianism/Veganism: A Way to Feel Good," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(7), pages 1-19, March.
    18. Acga Cheng & Murthazar Naim Raai & Nurul Amalina Mohd Zain & Festo Massawe & Ajit Singh & Wan Abd Al Qadr Imad Wan-Mohtar, 2019. "In search of alternative proteins: unlocking the potential of underutilized tropical legumes," Food Security: The Science, Sociology and Economics of Food Production and Access to Food, Springer;The International Society for Plant Pathology, vol. 11(6), pages 1205-1215, December.
    19. Patrick Schenk & Jörg Rössel & Manuel Scholz, 2018. "Motivations and Constraints of Meat Avoidance," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 10(11), pages 1-19, October.
    20. Jana Krizanova & Jorge Guardiola, 2021. "Happy but Vegetarian? Understanding the Relationship of Vegetarian Subjective Well-Being from the Nature-Connectedness Perspective of University Students," Applied Research in Quality of Life, Springer;International Society for Quality-of-Life Studies, vol. 16(5), pages 2221-2249, October.

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