From Meatless Mondays to Meatless Sundays: Motivations for Meat Reduction among Vegetarians and Semi-vegetarians Who Mildly or Significantly Reduce Their Meat Intake

Abstract

This study explores vegetarians’ and semi-vegetarians’ motives for reducing their meat intake. Participants are categorized as vegetarians (remove all meat from their diet); semi-vegetarians (significantly reduce meat intake: at least three days a week); or light semi-vegetarians (mildly reduce meat intake: once or twice a week). Most differences appear between vegetarians and both groups of semi-vegetarians. Animal-rights and ecological concerns, together with taste preferences, predict vegetarianism, while an increase in health motives increases the odds of being semi-vegetarian. Even within each group, subgroups with different motives appear, and it is recommended that future researchers pay more attention to these differences.

KEYWORDS:

• meat reduction
• public health campaigns
• semi-vegetarianism
• vegetarianism

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

The authors thank Gaëlle Buntinx for assistance in this study and the two anonymous reviewers for their constructive comments.