Meat, Dairy, Egg Consumption

Daily Livestock Report

Carol L. Glasser — Wed, 08 Feb 2012 11:45:00 -0800

This short summary of USDA data on per capita meat consumption shows a slight reduction in overall meat consumption in the US in 2010, compared to the previous year.

Young Adults Want to Know More About Meat

Carol L. Glasser — Mon, 06 Feb 2012 08:45:00 -0800

According to this survey, young adults are interested in learning more about various cuts of meat and how to prepare it. This survey is of interest to animal advocates as it addresses how young adults get most of their information about meat and their level of knowledge about food preparation.

Study Says Consumers Favor National Egg Legislation

Carol L. Glasser — Fri, 03 Feb 2012 08:45:00 -0800

Legislation was introduced to the US congress in January 2012 that would require egg producers to switch from conventional cages to "enriched cages." Enriched cages refer to "colony housing," which would need to be phased in over 15 to 18 years. Sponsorship of the survey and the question wording was not made publicly available.

Research, Education, Innovation. 2012

Carol L. Glasser — Tue, 31 Jan 2012 00:53:00 -0800

This is a report provided by the U.S. beef industry that summarizes research addressing attitudes toward beef and how to communicate with consumers in the United States. This is an annual survey and the results are compared with previous years.

How Readable Are Your Animal Advocacy Materials?

Carol L. Glasser — Tue, 17 Jan 2012 13:00:00 -0800

The most exciting project this new year, is the release of our latest study examining how easy it is for the average person to read and understand animal advocacy literature. Specifically, HRC partnered with VegFund and FARM to evaluate the readability of the most widely distributed vegan outreach pamphlets.

Readability of Vegan Outreach Literature

HRC Admin — Tue, 17 Jan 2012 08:45:00 -0800

To evaluate the readability of such materials in a more robust and transparent manner, the Humane Research Council (HRC) partnered with VegFund and FARM to test a selection of outreach materials that are commonly used by vegan advocates. The average readability scores placed these materials in the range of the 11th grade reading level or higher, which is three to four grade levels higher than the average U.S. adult.

World Livestock 2011: Livestock in Food Security

Carol L. Glasser — Thu, 29 Dec 2011 08:45:00 -0800

This report examines the role that farmed animals will play in the future of food security. The report evaluates how much livestock production is needed to feed the world by 2050 and makes recommendations for social policies to enable food security.

Veg'n Recidivism: Why is it Happening?

Fri, 09 Dec 2011 11:13:41 -0800

Advocates can use sociological theories to understand some of the social and cultural barriers to vegetarian maintenance. During the course of my interviews with ex-veg'ns I found six common reasons as to why they struggled with the practice. These include family relationships, identity, the ambiguity of the veg'n label, gender roles, the influence of peers, and the temporary nature of trends.

Returning to Meat: Who is Doing It, How it Happens, and What This Means for the Veg'n Movement

Tue, 22 Nov 2011 09:45:00 -0800

For my master's thesis I sought to answer a very simple but important question that may offer assistance to both the strength and future of vegetarianism: Why do vegetarians go back to meat? What I call "vegetarian recidivism" or "backsliding." To begin to answer this question I thought of “going veg” within the context of a social movement. Within this body of literature researchers have investigated both what mobilizes and stabilizes members of a social movement, but there is scant research addressing why people disengage from a social movement. Further, within the body of research addressing vegetarianism specifically, there were several reputable studies investigating the process of becoming vegan, but very little about the barriers and struggles to maintaining the practice.

Relationship of Carotid Intima-media Thickness and Duration of Vegetarian Diet in Chinese Male Vegetarians

Carol L. Glasser — Wed, 12 Oct 2011 10:45:00 -0700

This study compared 171 vegetarian men to 129 age-matched omnivores in China, to determine the effects on cardiovascular disease. The vegetarian men were healthier than meat-eaters on a number of factors: weight, blood pressure, arterial walls, cholesterol, and triglycerides.