Republican Vegan - Myth or Reality?

Is there such thing as a Republican vegan? Drs. Samantha L. Mosier (Department of Political Science, East Carolina University) and Dr. Arbindra P. Rimal (Department of Agribusiness, Agricultural Education and Communication, Missouri State University) have authored a newly published article in the British Food Journal that confirm Republican vegans are a rarity in the U.S. general population. This may come to the dismay or American journalist Rich Karlgaard tried to promote veganism among Republicans in a 2010 Huffington Post article.

In the study, the authors confirm most Americans are still omnivores, enjoying a range of meats from beef to seafood, but Republicans are less likely to be a vegan or vegetarian compared to Democrats and the unaffiliated (i.e. those that do not identify with either major U.S. political party). A larger percentage of unaffiliated individuals (50%) claim to be vegan compared to Republicans (12.5%) or Democrats (37.5%). Gender, race, and education level provide the most consistent factors associated with dietary behavior, but certain lifestyle factors, such as marriage, influence the partisanship-diet connection. Indeed, women, those with higher educational achievement, and individuals from minority ethnic groups are more likely to identify as a vegan or vegetarian, but married Republican men are less likely to engage in red-meat intensive diets.

The study is the first of its kind, according the authors’ knowledge, that provide a comprehensive snapshot of the partisan-diet connection of the American public. The study provides a platform for discussing the political constructs of dietary behavior and the implications for food and agriculture policy.

The study utilizes 2016 industry data from the Natural Marketing Institute’s Lifestyles of Health and Sustainability survey. The study, titled “Where’s the Meat? An Evaluation of Diet and Partisanship Identification” is available athttps://www.emerald.com/insight/content/doi/10.1108/BFJ-03-2019-0193/full/html