Vegetarianism and Veganism

The recent egg and beef recalls have people discussing food safety over the water-cooler this month. While they have garnered a lot of media attention due to the amount of meat and eggs contaminated, food recalls are not uncommon. Since the beginning of 2010 the USDA alone (the FDA and CDC also manage food recalls) has or is currently managing 56 food recalls. People are always at risk of food contamination, but are they aware of it? And when recalls highlight food safety issues, does it change individuals' consumptive behaviors?

When fellow animal advocates ask me questions about research on animal protection issues, I typically ask them if they have looked at our research primers. In response, I usually hear "Research what? Where?" I am guessing that many advocates, even those of you who follow our work, are not aware of the full wealth of free data we have available. Here I want to highlight HRC's research primers, since they are a free resource that can help all advocates better understand the issues on which they are working. So let me tell you a little about them.

Gender is a very important factor when considering people's perceptions toward animal issues, including vegetarianism and veganism (veg*nism). Although estimates vary, it is clear that the majority of people who are sympathetic toward animal issues and identify as veg*n are women. In a 2005 survey of the literature on veg*nism, HRC concluded that about 63% of vegetarians are female.

As the oil flows in the Gulf of Mexico and public attention turns to marine life, the mainstream media is covering the plight of fishermen and their loss of livelihood. Animal advocates, on the other hand, have also been thinking of the fish. It seems that fish are rarely the focus of animal protection efforts even though billions of fish are killed each year, over-fishing is damaging ecosystems, and the mercury content of fish is making people sick.