Vegan Anthropology

Abstract

Unlike the study of food, anthropologists have not yet worked towards creating an overview of the anthropological study of vegan food. However, the formation of a vegan subfield of anthropology is underway. Undergraduate anthropologists have perhaps contributed the most to the study of vegan food.

Analyzing surveys of vegans, vegan artifacts, and the portrayal of vegans (by vegans and by others) in pop culture, this study pays attention to four fundamental aspects of vegan diets: (1) definitions of veganism (including rules and systems of eating), (2) reasons for becoming vegan (including beliefs, motivations, values, and influences of veganism), (3) vegan practices (including where vegans get their food, what they eat, and how they prepare it), and (4) vegan sociability (including who vegans eat with as well as the social impact and consequences of being vegan).

Veganism, a culture and practice in itself, shapes the way that vegans navigate their day to day lives within Western culture and this Western culture shapes vegans’ practice of veganism. This study examines veganism among pop-culture cartoons, vegan individuals and groups, vegan literature, and vegan memes in American culture.