The study identified three types of social conflict for vegans. These take place around shared activities, such as meals and gatherings, within the vegan community itself, where people may disagree on what choices are acceptable, and in the marketplace, where finding vegan-friendly products and menus can be difficult.<\/p>\n
The study also found that people who follow vegan diets often employ four distinct behaviors to navigate shopping, cooking, and eating with meat-eaters.<\/p>\n
These include: \u201cDecoding,\u201d which is when vegans learn about food labeling, menus, and common non-vegan ingredients, and attempt to explain their choices and overall lifestyle to non-vegans;\u00a0 \u201cDecoupling,\u201d which is when vegans bring their own meals and ingredients to gatherings to share space but avoid the friction that can come with sharing food; \u201cDivesting,\u201d which refers to an uncompromising approach favored by vegans who avoid relationships and shared meals with non-vegans entirely; and \u201cchameleoning\u201d,\u00a0 which is when vegans attempt to balance their beliefs and lifestyle with conflict avoidance \u2013 similar to code switching \u2013 in order to get along.<\/p>\n
Non-mainstream ethical choices can cause \u2018friction\u2019<\/p>\n
The study builds upon the dissertation of Aya Aboelenien, one of the study\u2019s authors and an associate professor of marketing at HEC Montr\u00e9al in Quebec, Canada. The study\u2019s co-author, Zeynep Arsel, is a professor and research chair at West Montr\u00e9al\u2019s John Molson School of Business, and Aboelenien\u2019s former PhD advisor.<\/p>\n
\u201cIf you stand apart from the norm for ethical reasons, like driving an electric car or trying to live a green, sustainable life, others may take it as you trying to impose a moral lens on practices they\u2019ve had for a long time,\u201d Aboelenien told Phys.<\/a>o<\/a>rg<\/a>.<\/p>\n The Journal of Consumer Research published the study<\/a>, which is titled Surviving as a Vegan in a World of Omnivores: Relational Fractures in Shared Practices, last year.<\/p>\n Read more: <\/strong>Scientists Just Discovered A Way To Make Your French Fries Healthier<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n Many study participants reported \u2018retreated\u2019 from veganism due to stress<\/p>\n Aboelenien collected data by conducting 21 long interviews with current, aspiring, and lapsed vegans, some of whom followed the diet for a few weeks and some who had been vegan for 13 years. All of the interviewees were motivated by ethical concerns, and those who were vegan for health or religious reasons were excluded.<\/p>\n Aboelenien also collected and analyzed vegan life stories and additional secondary data from newspapers, blogs, social media, podcasts, YouTube videos and comments, books, and documentaries. She attended market events, vegan festivals, sit-ins, and protests, conducting field interviews and recording observational data.<\/p>\n \u201cMany of the people I spoke to really wanted to discuss the personal struggles they faced, which in many instances discouraged them from maintaining a vegan lifestyle,\u201d Aboelenien said. \u201cMany of them just retreated from veganism because of the stress in their personal relationships.\u201d<\/p>\n Last year, Dr Gemma Newman, a senior partner at a family medical practice, a public speaker, and the author of The Plant Powered Doctor, shared a video in which she discussed the symbolic \u201cthreat\u201d<\/a> that vegans can present to meat-eating identities.<\/p>\n \u201cNo one likes to feel judged,\u201d she said. \u201cIt instantly raises our defences and threatens our sense of self, and this threat is so powerful that the judgement doesn\u2019t even have to be real for us to react strongly.\u201d<\/p>\n![\"Photo](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/vegans-adapt-to-survive-meat-eating-world-study-3-1200x800.jpeg\")
Adobe Stock Some vegans choose to \u201cdivest,\u201d meaning that they avoid shared meals with non-vegans altogether<\/p>\n