A new report from Faunalytics reveals the most powerful motivators for people trying to stay vegan and vegetarian.
After studying hundreds of U.S. and Canadian consumers during their transition to vegetarianism or veganism (collectively referred to as veg*nism), a new report from research organization Faunalytics found that 42% of people’s veg*n journeys were motivated by health, 20% by animal protection, and 18% by environmental concern.
For animal advocates interested in helping new vegans and vegetarians maintain their change of lifestyle, study results suggest a focus on self-driven motivations (like personal values or moral identity) and experiences with animal advocacy.
Exposure to animal advocacy experiences increased people’s consumption success on their new diets, regardless of whether animal welfare was their primary motivation or not. People who had seen unpleasant or graphic media of farmed animals, watched a documentary, and/or received information from an animal advocacy group were all more successful at reaching their veg*n goal six months later.
The Going Vegan Or Vegetarian report reveals other helpful insights about the veg*n journey, such as the following:
- Self-driven motivations to go veg*n combined with external motivators was found to be a powerful driver of success. 70% of people who scored high on both self-driven and external motivations at the beginning of the study met or exceeded their goal level of animal product consumption by the sixth month, compared to 59% of all participants.
- Participants became less speciesist after going veg*n, and those who were more successful in reaching their veg*n goals experienced the greatest reduction in speciesism. Over the first six months of a new veg*n diet, people’s speciesism decreased significantly.
“While you might expect that people decide to go veg because they value animals, this study found that actually, going veg makes people more open to the idea of valuing animals! Speciesism (parallel to racism or sexism) is the devaluing of non-human animals, and while people going veg already tended to be less speciesist than other people are, the study also found that as their veg journey progressed, they became even less speciesist.” said Dr. Jo Anderson, Faunalytics’ Research Director and lead author of the report. “This suggests that eating less meat gives people the mental space to accept animals as sentient beings.”
The study reveals that the best way to support those switching to a veg*n diet is by encouraging them to identify self-driven motivations. Additionally, exposing people to the range of benefits including health, animal protection, and environmental concern leads to greater success in maintaining the change. Media about factory farming, documentaries, or other animal advocacy materials may be particularly effective.
The Going Vegan Or Vegetarian report is part of Faunalytics’ original research collection, which provides rigorous scientific data to inform the animal protection movement. The report has been generously supported by VegFund, Animal Charity Evaluators, and the Social Science and Humanities Research Council (SSHRC) and is the second in a three-part series of research Faunalytics will be releasing on the experiences of new veg*ns.
A complete list of Faunalytics’ recent and upcoming original studies is available here.
About Faunalytics
Faunalytics is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization that empowers animal advocates with access to research, analysis, strategies, and messages that improve their effectiveness to reduce animal suffering. For more than 20 years, Faunalytics has conducted and disseminated original research that delves into essential animal advocacy issues. Faunalytics also houses the world’s largest collection of opinion and behavior research on animals and offers pro-bono support to other animal advocacy organizations looking to increase their impact. For more information, visit www.faunalytics.org.
