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Non-vegan consumers are increasingly shifting their food habits and lifestyles towards vegan food. Thus, in addition to traditional, though poorly studied, ethical motives (i.e. animal, environmental, spiritual, health concerns), other factors may influence the purchase of vegan food. Within this context, the paper investigates the moderating role of conformity in enticing consumers to buy vegan food products, together with the main traditional consumers' concerns influencing their attitude towards vegan food. The study also considers the role of the willingness to pay a premium price as a direct driver of the intention to buy vegan.

An online survey was performed in Italy on a number of major Facebook thematic pages. A dataset based on 250 Italian non-vegans was used to implement a structural equation model.

Findings show that spiritual and animal concerns are direct drivers of non-vegan buyers' attitude towards vegan food. Attitude, then, strongly influences the intention to buy vegan foods. Though less impactful, non-vegans' willingness to pay a premium price is a motive positively influencing their intention to buy vegan food. The positive and significant moderating effect exerted by conformity on the attitude-intention path confirms the amplifying role played by trends and lifestyles on consumers' food buying choices.

This study contributes to the food and consumer behaviour literature in being the first exploring the moderating role played by conformity in inducing non-vegan consumers to buy vegan food. Environmental, animal, spiritual and health concerns are investigated from the non-vegan perspective.

Discusses the need for a food guide for vegans. Looks at the nutritional information and advice found in current popular vegan cookery books, including: sample menus; food groupings; food descriptions and recipes. Suggests a possible approach to a vegan food guide (VFG) incorporating foods suitable for this group. Concludes that more work needs to be undertaken in this area to develop the VFG and to ensure that the VFG is made readily available to vegans.

The paper aims to determine whether people with different eating patterns, specifically meat-free diets, engage in other types of eco-friendly behaviours and whether the meanings attributed to food allow for a better understanding of this relationship.

Data were collected between 2019 and 2020, on the island of Tenerife, Canary Islands, Spain. Different instruments were used: The meaning of food in life questionnaire (MFLQ; Arbit et al., 2017); the dietarian identity questionnaire (DIQ; Rosenfeld and Burrow, 2018) and the frugal behaviour scale (Muiños et al., 2015) and two items were used to identify the frequency with which participants purchased ecological or second-hand products. The final sample consisted of 202 participants who ate a vegan, vegetarian or omnivorous diet. Spearman's Correlations were performed and the Kruskal–Wallis statistical test was used.

People with a vegan or vegetarian diet purchased ecological (p ≤ 0.001) and second-hand products (p = 0.006) more frequently compared to omnivores. Furthermore, the meanings attributed to food, specifically the moral, sacred and health meanings, were related to differences in eating patterns (p ≤ 0.001), while also being related to some eco-friendly purchase and consumption behaviours. Lastly, frugal behaviour was only found to be related to the health factor of meaning in food (rs = 0.27).

The measurement used to evaluate the purchase of ecological and second-hand products is very simple/the role of the meaning of food in guiding more eco-friendly behaviours and promoting less ecologically impactful eating patterns.

The study provides valuable information on how vegan, vegetarian and omnivorous diets relate to eco-friendly behaviours.

Crowdfunding is a relatively new alternative method of raising capital for new ventures. In recent years, crowdfunding has also gained prominence within the food industry. On the basis of signaling theory, this study aims to analyze the success factors of vegan crowdfunding campaigns, which remains unexplored in academia.

This study employs a logistic regression analysis on a sample of 200 vegan crowdfunding campaigns launched in Europe between 2014 and 2021 on the popular crowdfunding platform Kickstarter.

The results show that the number of images, comments and updates as well as the readability of project descriptions positively impact the success rate of vegan crowdfunding campaigns. Furthermore, the length of the project description has a negative effect, whereas the number of videos has no bearing on the success of vegan crowdfunding campaigns.

To the best of the authors' knowledge, this study pioneers examining the success factors of vegan crowdfunding campaigns. This study enriches the literature in several ways. First, this study contributes to an open debate on the success factors of crowdfunding. Second, this study provides knowledge about the factors that can favor the success of vegan initiatives. Third, this study confirms the usefulness of signaling theory as a theoretical framework for understanding vegan crowdfunding.

The purpose of this paper is to explore strategic differences in marketing communication tactics for vegan and humane meat brands.

Content analysis was used to categorize the types of persuasive appeals used on the packaging of vegan and humane meat brands.

Humane meat brands use animal welfare and environmental appeals more often whereas vegan brands use taste appeals more frequently.

Marketers’ communication strategies for alternatives to traditional meat consumption are different from those of activists and non-profit organizations. By targeting middle of the road consumers, both vegan and humane brands can support widespread efficient and curtailment behaviors and in the process benefit consumers, the brands and society.

Anti-consumption and/or reduction of meat and animal by-products are arguably the most impactful ways in which consumers can alter their diets to positively impact individual and societal well-being. Consumers seeking alternatives to traditional meat consumption may either chose more sustainable meat products (efficient behaviors) or reduce/eliminate meat consumption (curtailment behaviors). Existing research suggests that such consumers can be divided into two segments – those driven by personal motives (health and/or taste) and those motivated by prosocial concern (environmental sustainability and/or animal welfare) and brands should match persuasive appeals to consumer motives, i.e. curtailment-focused vegan brands should use environmental or animal justice appeals and efficiency-focused humane meat brands should use taste or health appeals. However, the present research assumes marketers’ perspective and demonstrates that both vegan and humane brands target middle of the road consumers striving to balance multiple personal and prosocial goals, being socially responsible without compromising taste.

This study aims to identify the archetypes, moral foundations and plots associated with veganism through the stories told by vegan bloggers and the effect on mainstreaming of this ideology.

Narrative data was collected from 15 publicly available vegan blogs. Underlying archetypes, morals and story plots were identified and presented as a “story re-told,” highlighting the context and content of what was being said by the protagonists and associated meanings.

The analysis revealed three moral foundations on which vegan ideology is built: sanctity of life, enacting the authentic self and freedom. A universal hero archetype was also unearthed; however, the moral orientation of the storyteller (agency vs communal) dictated how these morals and archetypes were expressed.

Through the use of common story archetypes, master plots and moral foundations, a deeper understanding of vegans and the choices they make is facilitated, thus making vegan ideology appear less threatening. Storytelling plays an important role in establishing connections through commonality.

This study applies cultivation theory, storytelling analysis and archetype theory to reveal how vegan bloggers counteract mass media cultivation of vegan stereotypes through the stories they tell. We offer a more robust description of vegans, moving beyond stereotypes, and the morals driving behavior. Moreover, a unique mechanism of mainstreaming is exposed that shows vegans connect with people by tapping into universal archetypes and morals that anyone can relate to and relive.

Discusses the non‐dairy alternatives to milk and dairy products. Looks at a range of products suitable for the “vegan dairy” and compares the nutrient profiles with those of traditional milk and dairy products. Concludes that vegans should choose non‐dairy alternative products which have been fortified. The way forward is to expand the range of fortified “vegan dairy” products, to increase the availability of these foods and, in time, to reduce their price.

The purpose of the paper is to examine whether reported food habits (vegan, vegetarian, or carnivore diet) are associated with right-wing authoritarianism, prejudices against minorities and acceptance of social dominance.

In total, 1,381 individuals completed validated questionnaires on dietary habits and attitudes. Associations were analysed using analyses of covariance on attitudes, adjusted for age with gender and diet as factors.

Of the respondents, 35 per cent reported eating mixed food (including meat and fish), 31 per cent vegetarian food (excluding meat and fish) and 34 per cent vegan food (excluding animal products entirely). Authoritarianism was more frequent in carnivores compared to vegetarians and vegans; this difference was more distinctive in men (mean 2.4 vs 1.9 vs 1.7) than in women (2.2 vs 1.9 vs 1.8). Women with a mixed diet were more inclined to social dominance than vegetarians and vegans (1.8 vs 1.6 vs 1.6). Men with a mixed diet had a stronger tendency to dominance (2.0 vs 1.7 vs 1.5) and prejudices (2.5 vs 2.3 vs 2.1); this difference was less distinct among women (2.2 vs 2.1 vs 2.1).

This research is of academic value and of value to policy makers and practitioners in the food supply chain. The results show that individuals with vegetarian or vegan diets less frequently report having prejudices against minorities, supporting social dominance and accepting authoritarian structures than individuals with a mixed diet.

Through the application of domain-analytic principles, the purpose of this paper is to explore how participants’ understandings of healthy eating are related to their grouping and classification of foods.

In total, 30 food-interested people were asked to (1) sort a series of 56 statements about food, health, and eating on a scale from “most disagree” to “most agree”; (2)complete an open card sort of 50 foods; and (3) classify these 50 foods on a scale from “most unhealthy” to “most healthy”. Exercises (1) and (3) involved Q-methodology, which groups people who share similar understandings of a phenomenon.

Participants’ understandings of healthy eating – revealed by the first Q-methodology exercise – were related to shared food priorities, values, and beliefs; these understandings were indirectly connected with food identities, which was not expected. This suggests that lay domain knowledge is difficult to capture and must involve other methodologies than those currently employed in domain-analytic research.

Although a small sample of food-interested people were recruited, the purpose of this study was not to make generalized claims about perspectives on healthy eating, but to explore how domain knowledge is related to everyday organizational processes.

To “classify” in Library and Information Science (LIS) usually involves an engagement with formally established classification systems. In this paper the author suggests an alternative path for LIS scholars: the investigation of everyday life classification practices. Such an approach has value beyond the idiosyncratic, as the author discusses how these practices can inform LIS researchers’ strategies for augmenting the messages provided by static classification technologies.

Considers the relevance of the National Food Guide to vegans. Looks at various groupings, e.g. meat, fish and alternatives, and suggests improvements to the information currently presented in the guide, e.g. an increased emphasis on the protein value of pulses. Concludes that an alternative guide would be a good idea for people on a strict vegetarian diet, mentioning the Vegan Food Guide to be presented in a later issue of the journal.