Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2023 May 9;9(5):e16091.
doi: 10.1016/j.heliyon.2023.e16091. eCollection 2023 May.

Forty-five years of research on vegetarianism and veganism: A systematic and comprehensive literature review of quantitative studies

Gelareh Salehi  1   2 , Estela Díaz  1   2 , Raquel Redondo  1   3
Affiliations

Forty-five years of research on vegetarianism and veganism: A systematic and comprehensive literature review of quantitative studies

Gelareh Salehi et al. Heliyon. .

Abstract

Meat production and consumption are sources of animal cruelty, responsible for several environmental problems and human health diseases, and contribute to social inequality. Vegetarianism and veganism (VEG) are two alternatives that align with calls for a transition to more ethical, sustainable, and healthier lifestyles. Following the PRISMA guidelines, we conducted a systematic literature review of 307 quantitative studies on VEG (from 1978 to 2023), collected from the Web of Science in the categories of psychology, behavioral science, social science, and consumer behavior. For a holistic view of the literature and to capture its multiple angles, we articulated our objectives by responding to the variables of "WHEN," "WHERE," "WHO," "WHAT," "WHY," "WHICH," and "HOW" (6W1H) regarding the VEG research. Our review highlighted that quantitative research on VEG has experienced exponential growth with an unbalanced geographical focus, accompanied by an increasing richness but also great complexity in the understating of the VEG phenomenon. The systematic literature review found different approaches from which the authors studied VEG while identifying methodological limitations. Additionally, our research provided a systematic view of factors studied on VEG and the variables associated with VEG-related behavior change. Accordingly, this study contributes to the literature in the field of VEG by mapping the most recent trends and gaps in research, clarifying existing findings, and suggesting directions for future research.

Keywords: 6W1H; Systematic literature review; Veganism; Vegetarianism.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper

Figures

Fig. 1
Fig. 1
6 W & 1H approach applied to VEG literature.
Fig. 2
Fig. 2
PRISMA Flow diagram of the systematic literature review of quantitative VEG studies [30].
Fig. 3
Fig. 3
Count of VEG topic studies published from 1978 up to December 31, 2022.
Fig. 4
Fig. 4
When and what (streams).
Fig. 5
Fig. 5
When and what (frames).
Fig. 6
Fig. 6
WHY it is important to study VEG.
Fig. 7
Fig. 7
Conceptual map of measured variables in quantitative VEG studies.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

    1. Perry C.L., Mcguire M.T., Neumark-Sztainer D., Story M. Characteristics of vegetarian adolescents in a multiethnic urban population. J. Adolesc. Health. 2001;29(6):406–416. - PubMed
    1. Asher K.E., Peters P. Go the whole nine yards? How extent of meat restriction impacts individual dietary experience. Ecol. Food Nutr. 2020;59(4):436–458. - PubMed
    1. Cliceri D., Spinelli S., Dinnella C., Prescott J., Monteleone E. The influence of psychological traits, beliefs and taste responsiveness on implicit attitudes toward plant-and animal-based dishes among vegetarians, flexitarians and omnivores. Food Qual. Prefer. 2018;68:276–291.
    1. Siegrist M., Hartmann C. Impact of sustainability perception on consumption of organic meat and meat substitutes. Appetite. 2019;132:196–202. - PubMed
    1. Schobin J., Haefner G., León A.K. Frying nemo? Experimental evidence on anthropomorphism, animal ethics, and food choice. Appetite. 2022;173 - PubMed

LinkOut - more resources