Introduction:
Vegetarianism as a diet option seems increasingly like a normal possibility for younger
Americans. While the percentage of vegetarians to "carnivores" may not have changed
much in recent years, the acceptance or recognition of it has. Now many restaurants offer
vegetarian menus. Have our ideas about food changed? I am interested in understanding
what motivates those who make the choice of excluding meat from their diets (as
opposed to those for whom it is not rooted in preference but in a religious belief or
medical condition).
The number of groups publishing information and promoting their viewpoints on the
subject is immense. I will look at the content of their arguments and evaluate them, as
well as seeing how these arguments may be changing. In this sense, I will be looking at
present values in relation to the history of ideas about food in the twentieth century. I
suspect that certain external factors may also effect people’s behavior--such as Mad Cow
disease, the cost of beef and fish, increase in fast-food consumption, cholesterol
consciousness.
Once I have established an understanding of the major perspectives on this issue, I want
to look more closely at how individuals take in these various arguments (or don't) and
whether these campaigns or other issues shape behavior. At the same time, I will be alert
for factors such as age, region, gender, and tradition that might effect such choices. For
example, it seems possible that one's experience or lack of it with livestock or as a hunter
might be relevant. I expect to find that, in addition to the obvious effects of publicity
campaigns that other "everyday" shifts in people's attitudes and thinking about food
inform their choices.
Finally, I will look to consider whether dietary habits of vegetarians and non-vegetarians
are equally “chosen.” My suspicion is that many vegetarians make conscious decisions
to avoid meat (based on whatever reasoning and beliefs) but that fewer non-vegetarians
will have considered it as an issue, or consciously engaged in a choice about whether they
will eat meat.