MODEL OF THE PROCESS OF ADOPTING VEGETARIAN DIETS - HEALTH VEGETARIANS AND ETHICAL VEGETARIANS

Interest in vegetarian diets is growing due to health and animal welfa re concerns. This study examined the experiences of individuals who ad opted vegetarian diets as adolescents or adults. Nineteen self-identif ied adult vegetarians, recruited from a vegetarian group in one city u sing snowball sampling, participated in qualitative interviews. The ma jority of respondents were well-educated, middle-class adults of Europ ean-American backgrounds, although they varied in age and sex as well as type and duration of vegetarian diet. The constant comparative meth od was used for analysis of these qualitative data. A process model de scribing the adoption of vegetarian diets was developed. Two types of vegetarians, health and ethical, were identified based on respondents' major reasons for adopting a vegetarian diet. Health vegetarians were motivated by a perceived threat of disease and the potential health b enefits associated with Vegetarian dirts. Ethical vegetarians were mot ivated Ly moral considerations and Viewed a vegetarian diet as a way t o align dietary behaviors with beliefs and values about animal welfare . Adoption of a vegetarian diet was influenced by the receipt of infor mation about the health and ethical impacts of vegetarian diets, physi cal aversions to animal-derived food, and hfe transitions. These findi ngs can assist nutrition educators in developing strategies to work Wi th clients adopting vegetarian diets and expand understanding of food choice behavior.