We identified three barriers as the most problematic
Feeling unhealthy on one’s veg*n diet,
Not seeing veg*nism as part of one’s identity, and
Believing that society sees veg*nism negatively.
Sorry am I missing something? Isn’t the main barrier that vegan food is often less enjoyable to eat (even unpleasant)? And that getting/making good vegan food can be hard, time-consuming, or expensive?
I’m speculating, but new vegetarians and vegans, who are the study subjects here, may have already gotten past these barriers, or these were never barriers for them in the first place. New vegetarians and vegans may often have already been eating and cooking vegan food before going fully veg.
Correct, thanks—that’s the most likely explanation. We addressed potential food issues by looking at participants’ difficulties with cravings. In this sample we found that it wasn’t a strong barrier on average, but I wouldn’t generalize the null effects to the population at large. I would hazard a guess that the barriers we found to be impactful would generalize to others samples as well, but wouldn’t necessarily assume that no association here = no association for other groups.
The three barriers listed above are particularly problematic in that they predict quitting even for people who are in the best position to go veg*n, with their high commitment and few barriers.
You can see the full list in the linked article. In order of importance:
Feeling unhealthy on the veg*n diet
Low identification with veg*nism
Believing society perceives veg*nism negatively
Low autonomy support
Cultural influence making it more difficult to go veg*n
Cost
Weak habit formation around choosing veg*n food
Difficulty finding or preparing veg*n food
Feeling ashamed of one’s veg*n diet
Low personal control over food
Small veg*n network
Feeling that veg*nism hasn’t positively impacted one’s health goals
Low motivation
Frequent cravings for animal products
Specifically, people who felt unhealthy on their veg*n diet were more than three times as likely to abandon it within the first six months (30% vs. 8%). People who did not see veg*nism as part of their personal identity were about twice as likely as others to abandon it (16% vs. 8%). And people who thought society perceives veg*nism negatively were about 1.5 times as likely as others to abandon their diet (13% vs. 8%)
Sorry am I missing something? Isn’t the main barrier that vegan food is often less enjoyable to eat (even unpleasant)? And that getting/making good vegan food can be hard, time-consuming, or expensive?
I’m speculating, but new vegetarians and vegans, who are the study subjects here, may have already gotten past these barriers, or these were never barriers for them in the first place. New vegetarians and vegans may often have already been eating and cooking vegan food before going fully veg.
Correct, thanks—that’s the most likely explanation. We addressed potential food issues by looking at participants’ difficulties with cravings. In this sample we found that it wasn’t a strong barrier on average, but I wouldn’t generalize the null effects to the population at large. I would hazard a guess that the barriers we found to be impactful would generalize to others samples as well, but wouldn’t necessarily assume that no association here = no association for other groups.
The three barriers listed above are particularly problematic in that they predict quitting even for people who are in the best position to go veg*n, with their high commitment and few barriers.
You can see the full list in the linked article. In order of importance: