By Antti Kivivalli
The rising interest in climate-friendly diets has brought vegetarian and vegan foods into mainstream supermarkets, yet stereotypes about vegetarian consumers remain surprisingly strong. Even as scientists encourage reduced meat consumption, many people resist changing their habits. A new study in Food Quality and Preference sheds light on how different types of shoppers—meat eaters, flexitarians and vegetarians—are perceived across Europe.
The group performed a survey involving 3600 participants across four countries: UK, Germany, Sweden and Finland. The participants got to see three simple shopping lists: one of them contained meat products, one some chicken but also ‘vegetarian balls’ and the third one was totally vegetarian. They were then asked what they thought about the people who purchase those particular products.
In these traditionally meat-eating countries, meat eaters were seen as warm but less moral, eco-friendly, or health-oriented. Flexitarians scored higher, and vegetarians highest, on competence, ethics, and health, but also provoked stronger emotions such as admiration, envy, anger, fear, and contempt. Overall, meat alternative shoppers were perceived as more competent and ethical yet colder and more likely to elicit negative emotions and harmful intentions, with flexitarians falling in between.
We humans are complex creatures, but the authors attempted to explain this pattern of results using a BIAS map, which stands for Behaviors from Intergroup Affect and Stereotypes. They proposed some conclusions that might help market old and new vegetarian products.
Certainly, human desires for group affiliation and status naturally influence our food choices, but maybe we are missing something here. The authors also list many factors that are overlooked when we only think about group dynamics within a society. These include: greenhouse gas emissions, adverse effects on health and environment, unappealing sensory qualities, unfamiliarity, inconvenience of use, perceived costliness and lacking proteins or essential nutrients and vitamins. These factors interact with demographics, socioeconomic factors, and “psychographics” – people’s attitudes, interests, and lifestyles.
Problems with ‘animal welfare’ in the modern animal industry are listed as well. But maybe there is a bigger issue that affects stereotypes about vegetarian consumers: Why are they creating fear?
One thing may be the moral inferiority people create in their own minds. This is well discussed by Melanie Joy, author of the book ‘Why We Love Dogs, Eat Pigs, and Wear Cows” She uses the term “carnism” to describe the meat-eating mentality, where most people know that it is not right to kill animals for food if it can be avoided, but they still do it, and this cognitive dissonance creates all kinds of irrational thoughts.
Combine that with all the lessons we have learned from our mothers and the school and the media, that “Meat is Protein and if you don’t eat your meat, you may die!”. Never mind that vegetables also have protein – 5-10% of the energy content of a carrot, for instance comes from protein.
So there seems to be a lot to clarify and therefore the simple act of choosing a carrot can be seen as a real act of strength, because it represents a thoughtful and independent choice.
Study referenced: Malila, R. M., Pennanen, K., & Luomala, H. T. (2025). Meat alternative consumers still frowned upon in Europe: Analysis of stereotypical, emotional and behavioral responses of observing others. Food Quality & Preference, 125, Article 105380. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.foodqual.2024.105380