Between 2016 and 2020, the number of vegans in Europe has doubled from 1.3 million to 2.6 million. More and more people are questioning the consumption of meat and dairy for ethical, environmental and health reasons. The majority of these people are women, but there are a significant number of men who are vegans, too – and over 30% of Europeans say they are consciously eating less meat. In this episode, we explore men’s experiences and motivations for becoming vegan, and how they deal with masculine norms and expectations about food. For instance, veganism and vegetarianism are sometimes portrayed as ‘unmanly’ and effeminate, whilst meat-eating is often associated with strength, virility, and masculinity. The meat and dairy industries are also major contributors to greenhouse gas emissions – might the climate crisis and increasing recognition of the harms caused by these industries be leading to changes in the attitudes and behaviours of some men?

We speak to Dr Kadri Aavik, who is an Associate Professor of Gender Studies at Tallinn University, Estonia. Kadri has written a book about her research in Estonia and Finland on men and veganism, which has been published this year by Palgrave Macmillan: ‘Contesting Anthropocentric Masculinities through Veganism: Lived Experiences of Vegan Men’. Research for the book was conducted as part of the project ‘Climate Sustainability in the Kitchen: Everyday Food Cultures in Transition’ (University of Helsinki, 2018-2022), funded by the Kone Foundation: https://www.helsinki.fi/en/projects/climate-sustainability-kitchen   

• Buy Kadri’s book: https://link.springer.com/book/10.1007/978-3-031-19507-5
• Find out more about her research: https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Kadri-Aavik and https://www.etis.ee/CV/Kadri_Aavik/eng

We cover the following topics in this episode:

• Why food and eating are gendered (02:38-05:02)
• How to define veganism (05:02-06:49)
• Kadri’s research with vegan men in Estonia and Finland (06:49-09:41)
• Men’s motivations for becoming vegan (09:41-11:20)
• Kadri’s own relationship with veganism (11:20-13:33)
• The connections between meat-eating and masculinity (13:33-15:02)
• Gendered differences in diets (15:02-17:14)
• Men’s engagement in household cooking (17:14-21:32)
• Navigating family relationships as a vegan (21:32-23:32)
• The influence of patriarchy on human relations with other animals (23:32-27:42)
• What this has to do with climate change and ‘Anthropocentric masculinities’ (27:42-32:10)
• Barriers to veganism for men (32:10-37:33)
• The different contexts of veganism in Estonia and Finland (37:33-41:39)
• The extent to which veganism is a ‘privileged’ phenomenon (41:39-44:35)
• Achieving institutional as well as individual change (44:35-48:48)
• Veganism as a form of activism, not just a ‘lifestyle choice’ (48:48-50:45)
• Impacts of veganism on men’s relationships (50:45-54:12)

Explainers: 

• Routledge Handbook on Men, Masculinities and Organizations - https://www.taylorfrancis.com/books/edit/10.4324/9781003193579/routledge-handbook-men-masculinities-organizations-jeff-hearn-kadri-aavik-david-collinson-anika-thym
• The UK Vegan Society - https://www.vegansociety.com
• Carol Adams: The Sexual Politics of Meat - https://caroljadams.com/spom-the-book
• ‘Suella Braverman blames ‘Guardian-reading, tofu-eating wokerati’ for disruptive protests’ (Guardian, 18th Oct 2022) - https://www.theguardian.com/politics/video/2022/oct/18/suella-braverman-blames-guardian-reading-tofu-eating-wokerati-for-disruptive-protests-video