There's still no meat: Revisiting the idea of Republican vegans

Abstract

Existing academic research has highlighted a connection between dietary habits and political beliefs. An individual's dietary choices can mean more than just the need or pleasure of eating. Dietary choice can also be tied to a personal identity, in which food consumption reinforces through other beliefs and in-group identities, including partisan affiliation and political ideology. This study analyzes survey data from the Natural Marketing Institute's (NMI) 2019 Lifestyles of Health and Sustainability (LOHAS) survey and compares the results to Mosier and Rimal's original evaluation using the NMI's 2016 LOHAS survey data. The results show most Americans continue to have a meat-based diet irrespective of political party, with gender being the most consistent and robust explanatory factor for dietary choice. However, there are some notable shifts in dietary choice and significance for certain partisan affiliations that highlight how in-group dynamics may be reflective of attitude and behavioral norms.

Keywords: Republican vegan; diet politics; dietary choice; dietary preference; food partisanship; food policy; food politics; partisanship.