The Patriarchy and Veganism

The economic principle I’m exploring is “Institutions influence the ‘rules of the game’”

Credit: Whatispsycology.biz

 My research question to help me study the economic principle is “what demographics make up vegetarians and vegans?”

 The article titled Veganism is a women’s lifestyle, according to statistics “ https://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/04/01/vegan-woman-lifestyle_n_5063565.html” demonstrates this economic principle because it argues/shows that women comprise the majority of vegans in America.
 According to the essay, 79% of vegans in America are women. Should there be no institutions in place, this number would be approximately 50%, leaving room for those who are gender nonconforming. From this, one can infer that those who choose to be vegan, and thus make a huge lifestyle choice, are influenced by some unknown force. The article makes some inferences as to what these can be, but the majority of them are just guesses that rely strongly on gender stereotypes. 

Second, the article notes that women make up 59% of vegetarians. This statistic is shocking, given that the margin is much more stark for vegans than vegetarians. This is much closer to what statistically one would expect it to be, which raises possibly more questions than it answers. If those gender stereotypes that women supposedly comply with make them vegan, why do they not influence a higher majority of women to be vegetarian?

 Although I am just beginning my research, I am perplexed. Before reading the data on vegetarians, I was sure the reason more women were becoming vegans was because they felt they needed to comply with stereotypes of their gender, which included them being more health conscious and compassionate. However, I no longer believe the issue to be that of oppression, but rather one of empathy. The difference between veganism and vegetarianism primarily lies with female animals. In the meat industry, both male and female animals are eventually slaughtered to become food. However, in the dairy and egg industries, it is the female animals who bear the primary burden of suffering. Female cows are the ones who are subjected to a horrible life on farms where they are milked and it is female chickens who must live out their lives as nothing more than egg laying machines. While everyone is able to empathise with the fear of dying and suffering, and thus animals in the meat industry, I believe women are more able to empathize with the female animals harmed in the dairy and egg industries. They know what it is like to be reduced in value to their reproductive organs, and this is not a new fear for them. It is from their empathy and fear of being exploited like these animals that more women are turning to veganism than men. The institution at play in this debate is western society’s patriarchal history and our continuing legacy of gender inequality. Until that is addressed, women will continue to lead the vegan movement, hoping they can reduce female suffering wherever they can. In my next blog post I will research the role one’s cultural identity plays a role into their decision to live a vegetarian or vegan lifestyle.