Feb 15, 2022 06:49 PM
https://theconversation.com/the-meat-par...als-175683
EXCERPTS: Most people eat meat and dairy with little thought of the consequences. [...] In what is no doubt a response to these concerns, veganism is on the rise. In the UK, the number of people eating a plant-based diet increased fourfold between 2014 and 2019. However, vegans still only make up about 1% of the UK population and vegetarians just 2%. On a global scale, meat consumption is actually increasing.
Our recent paper reviewed 73 articles on a phenomenon called the meat paradox – the mental contradiction that helps devoted animal lovers continue eating animals.
This moral dilemma can cause people psychological discomfort, and our review revealed several triggers. For instance, you may relate to the jarring experience of realising for the first time that the meat on your plate came from an animal.
Meat-eating [...] participants were less likely to view animals as worthy of moral concern. And the more committed someone is to eating meat, the more likely they are to avoid information about the positive qualities of animals raised for food.
The discomfort people feel about eating meat presents them with a stark choice. Either remove the moral dilemma by giving up meat, or continue eating meat and morally disengage. Moral disengagement is when we choose not to act on our moral values. Our review highlighted several strategies that people use to maintain this moral disengagement.
After being reminded that the meat on your plate comes from an animal, you may try to forget its animal origins. People are more willing to eat meat when its animal origins are obscured, such as by calling meat beef instead of cow. Telling yourself that meat is necessary for health, socially normal, natural or too nice to give up can reduce the guilt people feel when eating meat. Giving up meat can seem difficult and so people often turn to these strategies to reconcile conflicting feelings... (MORE - missing details)
EXCERPTS: Most people eat meat and dairy with little thought of the consequences. [...] In what is no doubt a response to these concerns, veganism is on the rise. In the UK, the number of people eating a plant-based diet increased fourfold between 2014 and 2019. However, vegans still only make up about 1% of the UK population and vegetarians just 2%. On a global scale, meat consumption is actually increasing.
Our recent paper reviewed 73 articles on a phenomenon called the meat paradox – the mental contradiction that helps devoted animal lovers continue eating animals.
This moral dilemma can cause people psychological discomfort, and our review revealed several triggers. For instance, you may relate to the jarring experience of realising for the first time that the meat on your plate came from an animal.
Meat-eating [...] participants were less likely to view animals as worthy of moral concern. And the more committed someone is to eating meat, the more likely they are to avoid information about the positive qualities of animals raised for food.
The discomfort people feel about eating meat presents them with a stark choice. Either remove the moral dilemma by giving up meat, or continue eating meat and morally disengage. Moral disengagement is when we choose not to act on our moral values. Our review highlighted several strategies that people use to maintain this moral disengagement.
After being reminded that the meat on your plate comes from an animal, you may try to forget its animal origins. People are more willing to eat meat when its animal origins are obscured, such as by calling meat beef instead of cow. Telling yourself that meat is necessary for health, socially normal, natural or too nice to give up can reduce the guilt people feel when eating meat. Giving up meat can seem difficult and so people often turn to these strategies to reconcile conflicting feelings... (MORE - missing details)
