Eating together, yes, But without meat! Social influences related to vegetarianism and veganism

Vegetarianism benefits from the health and ethical scandals surrounding meat products; it is supported by the growing number of recommendations to reduce meat consumption and it has the support of actors (vegetarian and vegan) in a rapidly growing market. Meat is an important part of Western culture and consumption habits. Not eating meat can thus cover a very wide range of realities and of underlying motivations. Relational factors are fundamental in understanding the process of adopting vegetarianism. The vegetarian practice is subject to many social influences. These are an important driving force in the evolution of the practice and can make it very difficult to eat together with non-vegetarians. The issues of identity, social influences and social norms involved in vegetarian community relations are particularly central to understanding the influence they have on behaviour. The community is therefore a central lever for influencing the behaviors of vegetarians as well as potentially of non-vegetarians.