Managing vegetarianism: Identities, norms and interactions

Vegetarians exclude various forms of animal-derived foods from consumption, and consequently must use special strategies to make food choices and pres ent their food decisions to others. This study investigated the ways people following vegetarian diets managed their food choices and negotiated their interactions with others. Qualitative methods were used to interview 19 se lf-identified vegetarians recruited by snowball sampling. Many respondents followed vegan diets, but the majority consumed some form of animal foods. The vegetarians in this sample self-consciously labeled themselves "vegetar ians," and adopted and used a vegetarian identity that included normative b ehavioral expectations. To manage social interactions, vegetarians sometime s ate animal-derived foods not in their usual diets in particular situation s and used explanations in the form of accounts and discounting in construc ting justifications for those behaviors. Understanding management of vegeta rianism as a process reveals barriers and enabling factors for dietary prac tices that differ from those of the predominant society.