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Veganomics: The Surprising Science on What Motivates Vegetarians, from the Breakfast Table to the Bedroom
Flip through a magazine, turn on the TV, or browse around online, and it quickly becomes clear: vegetarian eating is on the rise. But just who are vegetarians? How do they make the transition? And what really drives them to take the meat off their plates?
Vegetarians differ from omnivores not just in their eating habits but also in their psychology, personalities, friendship choices, even their sex lives. Extensive studies from around the world show that they vote differently, take different jobs, and have brains that fire differently. This research also provides insight into why people who consider themselves vegetarian may not really be vegetarian at all, and why so many fall off the vegetarian wagon.
Veganomics is a fascinating journey through the science on vegetarians and vegetarian eating, shedding new light on how and why people eat the way they do, and what impact their dietary choices can have on the world around us. Be forewarned: after reading this book, you may never look at vegetarians the same way again!
Vegetarians differ from omnivores not just in their eating habits but also in their psychology, personalities, friendship choices, even their sex lives. Extensive studies from around the world show that they vote differently, take different jobs, and have brains that fire differently. This research also provides insight into why people who consider themselves vegetarian may not really be vegetarian at all, and why so many fall off the vegetarian wagon.
Veganomics is a fascinating journey through the science on vegetarians and vegetarian eating, shedding new light on how and why people eat the way they do, and what impact their dietary choices can have on the world around us. Be forewarned: after reading this book, you may never look at vegetarians the same way again!
210 pages, Paperback
First published August 29, 2013
10 people are currently reading
748 people want to read
About the author
Nick Cooney
5 books85 followersNick Cooney is the founder and managing partner of venture capital firm Lever VC and the author of What We Don’t Do: Inaction in the Face of Suffering and the Drive to Do More (Regalo Press, 2025). His work has been covered in hundreds of media outlets including the Wall Street Journal, CNN, Bloomberg, Reuters, TIME, the Los Angeles Times, NBC, Forbes, and similar.
Nick is also the founder and board chair of Lever Foundation, a non-profit focused on advancing a humane and sustainable food system, and previously founded and co-founded the non-profits The Humane League and the Good Food Institute. He is the author of several previous books on how to effectively carry out charity work, including How to Be Great at Doing Good and Change of Heart, and advises on philanthropic giving. He lives in the greater New York City region.
Nick’s personal website is: http://www.nickcooney.com
His work websites are:
https://www.LeverVC.com
https://www.LeverFoundation.org
You can also see more about Nick at the following social media pages and links:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nick_Co...
https://www.linkedin.com/in/nickcooney1
https://www.facebook.com/nick.cooney1
https://www.instagram.com/nick.cooney2/
https://twitter.com/nickcooney2
https://www.amazon.com/Nick-Cooney/e/...
https://www.goodreads.com/author/show...
https://medium.com/@NickCooney
https://signal.nfx.com/investors/nick...
https://www.crunchbase.com/person/nic...
https://www.audible.com/author/Nick-C...
Nick is also the founder and board chair of Lever Foundation, a non-profit focused on advancing a humane and sustainable food system, and previously founded and co-founded the non-profits The Humane League and the Good Food Institute. He is the author of several previous books on how to effectively carry out charity work, including How to Be Great at Doing Good and Change of Heart, and advises on philanthropic giving. He lives in the greater New York City region.
Nick’s personal website is: http://www.nickcooney.com
His work websites are:
https://www.LeverVC.com
https://www.LeverFoundation.org
You can also see more about Nick at the following social media pages and links:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nick_Co...
https://www.linkedin.com/in/nickcooney1
https://www.facebook.com/nick.cooney1
https://www.instagram.com/nick.cooney2/
https://twitter.com/nickcooney2
https://www.amazon.com/Nick-Cooney/e/...
https://www.goodreads.com/author/show...
https://medium.com/@NickCooney
https://signal.nfx.com/investors/nick...
https://www.crunchbase.com/person/nic...
https://www.audible.com/author/Nick-C...
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 34 reviews
April 7, 2015
I wrote it so of course I have to give it five stars :)
September 24, 2013
Veganomics uses all available studies about what motivates vegetarians and vegans in an attempt to figure out the most effective methods of convincing more people to cut meat out of their diets. There are not very many studies that have been done, and the studies are often older and/or have specific problems with them, like having a sample group of only teenagers, not doing follow-up data collection, and failing to differentiate between vegan and vegetarian or even calling animals like fish or chickens vegetarian. The book is very honest about its limitations and is nevertheless extremely informative and useful for animals advocates.
Cooney is driven primarily with the desire to do the most good for the highest number of animals. Because chickens and fish account for 92% of the animals killed for food and 95% of the days of suffering for animals, he makes an extremely convincing argument that we should focus our efforts on getting people to reduce or eliminate chickens, their eggs, and fish from their diets. Although I agree with him that it is worthwhile to refocus our efforts to chickens and fish (in fact, I personally have been advocating for the ceasing of eating all sea animals due to their quickly-diminishing numbers for longer than I have been vegan), I have a suggestion to add to Cooney's list of recommendations for animal advocates: we should encourage people specifically to replace meat with vegetables, fruit, legumes, grains, etc, in order to discourage people just from switching to chicken or fish instead of red meat.
Cooney suggests targeting people who are more likely to reduce or eliminate meat from their diets: women, young people, Democrats. In this way, he argues, we can save the most animals. Again, I agree with him. But, personally, I also believe it is useful to find ways to reduce the knee-jerk dismissiveness and hostility that older males tend to have towards veg*ns. I do quite a bit of vegan pay-per-view outreach, and this book gave me some important info to use in talking to men. For instance, whereas women are more likely to cite health as a reason to eat vegetarian, men are more likely to cite health as a reason NOT to eat vegetarian. It is important to use male-specific health reasons when talking to men, like reducing the risk of prostate and colorectal cancers. I like to throw in erectile dysfunction, because that appeals to traditional masculinity, and veg eating is not viewed by men as "manly." Interestingly, though, there was also a quick mention in the book that, although female vegetarians outnumber male ones, numbers of vegans are more gender-equal. I'd love to see more study on the reasons why that is, though I have some theories.
If you hang out with groups of veg*ns like I do, you may have come across those who are against appealing to health as the reason to go veg. Cooney, however, like me, has come to the conclusion that both reasons should be used in conjunction with each other. People who avoid meat for whatever reason—not fully vegetarian people—account for most of the drop in demand for meat (there was a 10% drop between 2006 and 2012). Those who avoid meat but are not fully veg tend to be motivated by health reasons more than by the suffering of animals, though those with aspects of both eat less meat than those with only health reasons. Therefore, we should incorporate both into our messaging. Cooney makes an interesting point that when someone brings up the health risks of a certain food, if there is any change at all in regards to the listener's consumption of that food, the change tends to be a decrease, not an increase, of consumption.
All that said, it's important to specifically focus on the health risks of eating chickens and fish, because if talking about health leads to a switch from eating cows and pigs to eating chickens and fish, that will mean an increase in suffering for animals. In fact, Cooney points out in his chapter about veg meats that even if people switch from eating a burger made from a cow to a veggie burger that has egg in it, this will also mean an increase in number of animals suffering.
Rightly, Cooney encourages people to not oversell the health message. For me personally, I get upset when I hear fellow veg*ns repeat things that are not true and could ultimately harm our health, like that we can get B12 from unwashed vegetables or seaweed or that vegans don't need to worry about calcium because animal protein isn't causing acidity in our blood that strips away our bones. I believe that it is incredibly healthy to eat a whole-food plant-based diet and that the health effects are overwhelmingly positive, and I will not hesitate to promote that message, but I think failing to give people vital health information often leads to people beginning to eat meat again.
Cooney also points out a danger in the health message that I never thought of before: many people specifically reject things they believe to be healthy. He encourages veg advocates to give potential converts delicious food, not healthy food, and to not say that it's healthy if it is not. He writes, "If they want to be effective, vegetarian advocates should indeed refrain from telling new vegetarians to fill up on quinoa and sprouts." Even if you're a whole-food vegan and wouldn't touch the stuff ever, commercial veg meats are actually quite popular, have gotten really great in the past few years, and are a vital tool in getting people to switch their diets.
One interesting bit early in the book said that anti-authoritarian people are more likely to go veg. He doesn't elaborate on it, but in my opinion, and in my personal advocacy, I've found that it is helpful if, when you can identify a person as anti-authoritarian, that you not only point out the extreme cruel bullying we enact upon non-human animals, but also how factory farms are owned by giant corporations with their hands in the government and how they go to great lengths to hide their activities from the public, going so far as trying to enact "ag-gag" laws that label any person who takes photos or video inside a factory farm to be a terrorist.
And another interesting bit: there is a lot in this book about how people often will claim to be eating less meat but actually are not, and that this is particularly true of older people. I've definitely observed this to be the case. Also, again especially among older people, many will even say they are a vegetarian while still eating meat, usually that of fish or chickens. To me, this seems to indicate a desire on many people's parts to be perceived as doing what they know to be the right thing even though they are not. People's desire to lie about this seems indicative of knowledge and subtle understanding of what they should be doing, which is stopping eating animals.
I actually have a lot more to say, but this has really gone on long enough, though it's hard for me to stop writing! I have not yet read Change of Heart: What Psychology Can Teach Us About Spreading Social Change by this same author, but I've purchased it on my Kindle and I intend to read it soon. If you've gotten this far in the review, thank you for reading it and keep fighting for the animals!
Cooney is driven primarily with the desire to do the most good for the highest number of animals. Because chickens and fish account for 92% of the animals killed for food and 95% of the days of suffering for animals, he makes an extremely convincing argument that we should focus our efforts on getting people to reduce or eliminate chickens, their eggs, and fish from their diets. Although I agree with him that it is worthwhile to refocus our efforts to chickens and fish (in fact, I personally have been advocating for the ceasing of eating all sea animals due to their quickly-diminishing numbers for longer than I have been vegan), I have a suggestion to add to Cooney's list of recommendations for animal advocates: we should encourage people specifically to replace meat with vegetables, fruit, legumes, grains, etc, in order to discourage people just from switching to chicken or fish instead of red meat.
Cooney suggests targeting people who are more likely to reduce or eliminate meat from their diets: women, young people, Democrats. In this way, he argues, we can save the most animals. Again, I agree with him. But, personally, I also believe it is useful to find ways to reduce the knee-jerk dismissiveness and hostility that older males tend to have towards veg*ns. I do quite a bit of vegan pay-per-view outreach, and this book gave me some important info to use in talking to men. For instance, whereas women are more likely to cite health as a reason to eat vegetarian, men are more likely to cite health as a reason NOT to eat vegetarian. It is important to use male-specific health reasons when talking to men, like reducing the risk of prostate and colorectal cancers. I like to throw in erectile dysfunction, because that appeals to traditional masculinity, and veg eating is not viewed by men as "manly." Interestingly, though, there was also a quick mention in the book that, although female vegetarians outnumber male ones, numbers of vegans are more gender-equal. I'd love to see more study on the reasons why that is, though I have some theories.
If you hang out with groups of veg*ns like I do, you may have come across those who are against appealing to health as the reason to go veg. Cooney, however, like me, has come to the conclusion that both reasons should be used in conjunction with each other. People who avoid meat for whatever reason—not fully vegetarian people—account for most of the drop in demand for meat (there was a 10% drop between 2006 and 2012). Those who avoid meat but are not fully veg tend to be motivated by health reasons more than by the suffering of animals, though those with aspects of both eat less meat than those with only health reasons. Therefore, we should incorporate both into our messaging. Cooney makes an interesting point that when someone brings up the health risks of a certain food, if there is any change at all in regards to the listener's consumption of that food, the change tends to be a decrease, not an increase, of consumption.
All that said, it's important to specifically focus on the health risks of eating chickens and fish, because if talking about health leads to a switch from eating cows and pigs to eating chickens and fish, that will mean an increase in suffering for animals. In fact, Cooney points out in his chapter about veg meats that even if people switch from eating a burger made from a cow to a veggie burger that has egg in it, this will also mean an increase in number of animals suffering.
Rightly, Cooney encourages people to not oversell the health message. For me personally, I get upset when I hear fellow veg*ns repeat things that are not true and could ultimately harm our health, like that we can get B12 from unwashed vegetables or seaweed or that vegans don't need to worry about calcium because animal protein isn't causing acidity in our blood that strips away our bones. I believe that it is incredibly healthy to eat a whole-food plant-based diet and that the health effects are overwhelmingly positive, and I will not hesitate to promote that message, but I think failing to give people vital health information often leads to people beginning to eat meat again.
Cooney also points out a danger in the health message that I never thought of before: many people specifically reject things they believe to be healthy. He encourages veg advocates to give potential converts delicious food, not healthy food, and to not say that it's healthy if it is not. He writes, "If they want to be effective, vegetarian advocates should indeed refrain from telling new vegetarians to fill up on quinoa and sprouts." Even if you're a whole-food vegan and wouldn't touch the stuff ever, commercial veg meats are actually quite popular, have gotten really great in the past few years, and are a vital tool in getting people to switch their diets.
One interesting bit early in the book said that anti-authoritarian people are more likely to go veg. He doesn't elaborate on it, but in my opinion, and in my personal advocacy, I've found that it is helpful if, when you can identify a person as anti-authoritarian, that you not only point out the extreme cruel bullying we enact upon non-human animals, but also how factory farms are owned by giant corporations with their hands in the government and how they go to great lengths to hide their activities from the public, going so far as trying to enact "ag-gag" laws that label any person who takes photos or video inside a factory farm to be a terrorist.
And another interesting bit: there is a lot in this book about how people often will claim to be eating less meat but actually are not, and that this is particularly true of older people. I've definitely observed this to be the case. Also, again especially among older people, many will even say they are a vegetarian while still eating meat, usually that of fish or chickens. To me, this seems to indicate a desire on many people's parts to be perceived as doing what they know to be the right thing even though they are not. People's desire to lie about this seems indicative of knowledge and subtle understanding of what they should be doing, which is stopping eating animals.
I actually have a lot more to say, but this has really gone on long enough, though it's hard for me to stop writing! I have not yet read Change of Heart: What Psychology Can Teach Us About Spreading Social Change by this same author, but I've purchased it on my Kindle and I intend to read it soon. If you've gotten this far in the review, thank you for reading it and keep fighting for the animals!
September 5, 2016
A very helpful little book for veg activists, Veganomics brings together data collected in recent years about a number of topics, such as: what motivates people to reduce or eliminate meat consumption (answer: primarily animal cruelty and health concerns), what demographic group is most likely to go vegetarian (young women), what are the most effective ways to tailor vegetarian outreach to make it appealing to people (one example: refer to food as "meat-free" instead of "vegetarian"), why to emphasize cutting out chicken, fish and eggs instead of red meat (chickens and fish account for 92% of the farm animals killed for food in the U.S. and represent 95% of the days of animal suffering caused each year by omnivores).
Again, all the topics in the book are approached in terms of actual scientific studies involving real people; it's not just someone's guess or opinion. There's much more: what factors influence the choice to eat meat analog products? Why are there so many more female vegetarians than male? Is it effective to use graphic images of farm animal cruelty? What are the barriers for people to give up meat and how can we overcome them? And, as alluded to in the book's subtitle, do vegetarians have better sex lives?
Everyone who cares about farm animals and the planet, and wants to know maximally effective strategies to persuade people away from meat, should pick up this book.
Note: Despite its title, Veganomics does not discuss economics, the huge cost of America's meat habit. For that topic, I recommend another excellent recent book, Meatonomic$, by David Robinson Simon.
Again, all the topics in the book are approached in terms of actual scientific studies involving real people; it's not just someone's guess or opinion. There's much more: what factors influence the choice to eat meat analog products? Why are there so many more female vegetarians than male? Is it effective to use graphic images of farm animal cruelty? What are the barriers for people to give up meat and how can we overcome them? And, as alluded to in the book's subtitle, do vegetarians have better sex lives?
Everyone who cares about farm animals and the planet, and wants to know maximally effective strategies to persuade people away from meat, should pick up this book.
Note: Despite its title, Veganomics does not discuss economics, the huge cost of America's meat habit. For that topic, I recommend another excellent recent book, Meatonomic$, by David Robinson Simon.
February 7, 2019
It was a bit more analytical than I had anticipated, not so much in it's depiction of the facts but in the numerous articles, scientific reports, and books it cited. Overall it stands as a pretty good read particularly for current vegetarians looking to best spread these important ideas.
September 27, 2013
When I read Nick Cooney's CHANGE OF HEART on the way to publishing it, I was struck that an individual, who wasn't an academic, had had the patience, the zeal, and the wherewithal to plow through as many social science articles, many of them very obscure, and find those curious nuggets of information that upended much of what we thought about a subject. That's why I call him the "Malcolm Gladwell of the animal rights movement." His ability to synthesize a lot of studies is admirable; he is able to organize his material well, and his writing is clear. He may not be able (yet) to unpack the studies in the way Gladwell can, and not being a journalist Cooney doesn't follow up his material with interviews or profiles, but his work is nonetheless very valuable. VEGANOMICS is no exception: a thorough and engaging survey of what vegans and vegetarians believe and do. The aim in this book is to make those of us who already are veg*ns aware of the extent of our practices, identities, etc., and to make us more effective advocates for our lifestyle.
Cooney acknowledges that there are limitations to his analysis. People overreport in surveys their environmental awareness, and underreport how much meat and dairy they eat. Some surveys and studies are thirty years old, and times may have changed since. Although, some of the information gathered is contradictory, even contraindicative, when it comes to formulating strategy, VEGANOMICS nonetheless provides a lot of talking points for further discussion. I'm happy and proud to be Nick's publisher.
Cooney acknowledges that there are limitations to his analysis. People overreport in surveys their environmental awareness, and underreport how much meat and dairy they eat. Some surveys and studies are thirty years old, and times may have changed since. Although, some of the information gathered is contradictory, even contraindicative, when it comes to formulating strategy, VEGANOMICS nonetheless provides a lot of talking points for further discussion. I'm happy and proud to be Nick's publisher.
April 17, 2020
This book is a must read for everyone who want to be an effective animal advocate. Nick Cooney is one of the top authors who translates hard research data for the broader animal advocacy audience. We, as the advocates, have to save the greatest amount of animals in our limited time. Therefore, we need to focus our minds on effective ways how to say people why go vegetarian and recognize who are the people most inclined to go meat free. We can not rely on our assumptions. We need to follow the advices from this book (and other research-based resources) and encourage people to ditch poultry meat, fish an eggs. With such approach we could save the individuals who are killed in the greatest numbers for human consumption. Our advocacy effort should be focused on young women, democrats, open-minded people who are the "low-hanging fruit". We need to inspire people to reduce their consumption of animal products which is also very effective way how to spare millions animals from death.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
February 20, 2018
If you are looking for a book to answer the question of why vegetarian food is generally more expensive than comparable non-vegetarian food Veganomics: The Surprising Science on What Motivates Vegetarians, from the Breakfast Table to the Bedroom by Nick Coony isn't it. It's two other things: a call for ethical vegetarianism and a review of surveys that may indicate what kinds of people may be most likely to heed such a call.
November 18, 2017
Interesting stats, but primarily useful for folks in the activist community, or those looking to change other peoples' minds about vegetarianism or veganism.
October 21, 2020
Fascinating
May 29, 2021
Lying or withholding the truth in order to convince more people to go vegan? Not my cup of tea…
February 9, 2022
Contains assorted economic and demographic data regarding reducitarian/vegetarian/vegan consumption trends, evidence-based advocacy tips.
April 5, 2020
2014.07.14–2014.07.18
Contents
Cooney N (2013) Veganomics - The Surprising Science on What Motivates Vegetarians, from the Breakfast Table to the Bedroom
Introduction
01. Move Aside, Cows and Pigs: How What We Eat Really Impacts Animals
• How Many Animals Does a Vegetarian Spare?
• Calculating Cruelty
• Does This Feel Weird to You?
• Putting It Into Practice
• The Ideal Message
• But Wait, Do Vegetarians Really Spare All Those Animals?
02. Who's Ditching Meat? The Demographics of Diet Change
• Why It Matters
• Age
• Gender
• Income
• Education
• Ethnicity
• Geography
• Vegetarians: They Love Their Meat!
• Semi-Vegetarians
03. What Sets Them Apart: How to Pick a Vegetarian Out of a Crowd
• Vegetarians Are Democrats
• Vegetarians Aren't Married
• Vegetarians Are Middle Children
• Vegetarians Are LGBT
• Vegetarians Grew Up with More Companion Animals
• Vegetarians Are Smart
• Vegetarians Are Introverted
• Vegetarians Are Artistic
• Vegetarians Are as Friendly and Active as Meat-Eaters
• Vegetarians Don't Follow Traditional Religions
• Vegetarian Adults Drink and Smoke Less
• Vegetarians Aren't Foodies
• People Willing to Purchase “Humane” Meat Are More Likely to Go Vegetarian
04. This Is Your Brain on Tofu: The Hearts and Minds of Vegetarians
• The Caring Vegetarian
• Vegetarians Have Different Values
• Vegetarians and Mental Health
• Vegetarian Teenagers: Rebels with a Cause
• Are Vegetarians Dieters?
• Vegetarians Make Better Sex Partners—Maybe
• Strict Vegetarians Have Lots of Vegetarian Friends
• Vegetarians Are Picky About “Non-Vegetarian” Food
• Vegetarians Aren't Perfect on Animal Issues
• How People Perceive Vegetarians
05. Oh Brother: Why Women Are Much, Much More Veg-Friendly Than Men
• The Rundown
• Do Women Respond Better to Vegetarian Advocacy Efforts?
• Why Is There a Gender Difference in the First Place?
• Justifying Meat Eating: Men vs. Women
• An Equal World
06. Making The Switch: How People Go Vegetarian
• The Point of Change
• Easy Does It
• How It Feels
• Vegetarians Over Time
07. Why They Do It: The Real Reasons People Ditch Meat
• The Reason Why
• Health Vegetarians and Ethical Vegetarians: Brothers from Another Mother
• Vegetarians Young and Old: Differing Motivations
• Why Vegans Do It
• The Changing Motivations of Vegetarians
• Secondary Reasons for Going Vegetarian
• Semi-Vegetarians: Why They Do It
08. Barriers: Why People Aren't Going Vegetarian (According to Them)
• The Four Big Ones
• Other Barriers
• Put Yourself in Their Leather Shoes
09. Former Vegetarians: No One Likes a Quitter
• How Many Are There?
• Why They're Quitting
• The Power of How
• Former Vegetarians: They're Just Different from You and Me
• Which Groups Are Most Likely to Backslide?
• What They Eat Now
• How Long Were They Vegetarian?
• Doctors Ditching Vegetarianism
10. Rise of the Meat Tooth: Meat Consumption at Home and Around the Globe
• A Nation of Meat Lovers
• The Century of Meat
• A New Hope
• Nature vs. Nurture
• Back Home in the USA: How Much Meat Is on American Plates?
• Age
• Gender
• Income
• Education
• Ethnicity
• Checking In on Chicken: A Few Notes About Poultry Consumption
• Giving Up Red Meat: A Good or Bad Thing?
• Fish Tales
11. Meat 2.0: What Vegetarians and Meat-Eaters Really Think of Vegetarian Meats
• Vegetarian Meat's Storied Roots
• Who Eats Vegetarian Meats?
• Why People Eat (or Don't Eat) Vegetarian Meats
• Laying It on the Table: Which Meat Substitutes Are Liked Best?
• Language Matters, Part I: Vegetarian, Vegan, or Meat-Free?
• Language Matters, Part II: Good Labels and Bad Labels
12. Animals Are Stupid, Emotionless, and Don't Feel Pain: How Eating Meat Affects Beliefs About Animals
• Moral Disengagement
• Paying No Mind to Animals
• The Question Is, Can They Suffer?
• Animals: Are They Like Us?
• Animals as People
13. Meat-Free Media: The Impact of Books, Videos, and Television on What People Eat
• The Omnivore's Dilemma
• The Simpsons
• Pamphlets
• Online Videos
• Media Coverage of Factory Farming
14. Messages That Motivate: Selling the Benefits of a Vegetarian Diet
• The Social Justice/World Hunger Message
• The Religious Message
• The Taste Message
• The Environmental Message
• The Animal Welfare Message
• The Health Message
• Concerns with the Health Message
• A Final Word About Motivations
15. Inspiring Change: A Research-Based Checklist on What Will Motivate the Public to Ditch Meat
• The Caveats
• Key Recommendations from Research on Vegetarians
• Key Recommendations from General Social-Psychology Research
Conclusion
Works Cited
About the Author
About the Publisher
Contents
Cooney N (2013) Veganomics - The Surprising Science on What Motivates Vegetarians, from the Breakfast Table to the Bedroom
Introduction
01. Move Aside, Cows and Pigs: How What We Eat Really Impacts Animals
• How Many Animals Does a Vegetarian Spare?
• Calculating Cruelty
• Does This Feel Weird to You?
• Putting It Into Practice
• The Ideal Message
• But Wait, Do Vegetarians Really Spare All Those Animals?
02. Who's Ditching Meat? The Demographics of Diet Change
• Why It Matters
• Age
• Gender
• Income
• Education
• Ethnicity
• Geography
• Vegetarians: They Love Their Meat!
• Semi-Vegetarians
03. What Sets Them Apart: How to Pick a Vegetarian Out of a Crowd
• Vegetarians Are Democrats
• Vegetarians Aren't Married
• Vegetarians Are Middle Children
• Vegetarians Are LGBT
• Vegetarians Grew Up with More Companion Animals
• Vegetarians Are Smart
• Vegetarians Are Introverted
• Vegetarians Are Artistic
• Vegetarians Are as Friendly and Active as Meat-Eaters
• Vegetarians Don't Follow Traditional Religions
• Vegetarian Adults Drink and Smoke Less
• Vegetarians Aren't Foodies
• People Willing to Purchase “Humane” Meat Are More Likely to Go Vegetarian
04. This Is Your Brain on Tofu: The Hearts and Minds of Vegetarians
• The Caring Vegetarian
• Vegetarians Have Different Values
• Vegetarians and Mental Health
• Vegetarian Teenagers: Rebels with a Cause
• Are Vegetarians Dieters?
• Vegetarians Make Better Sex Partners—Maybe
• Strict Vegetarians Have Lots of Vegetarian Friends
• Vegetarians Are Picky About “Non-Vegetarian” Food
• Vegetarians Aren't Perfect on Animal Issues
• How People Perceive Vegetarians
05. Oh Brother: Why Women Are Much, Much More Veg-Friendly Than Men
• The Rundown
• Do Women Respond Better to Vegetarian Advocacy Efforts?
• Why Is There a Gender Difference in the First Place?
• Justifying Meat Eating: Men vs. Women
• An Equal World
06. Making The Switch: How People Go Vegetarian
• The Point of Change
• Easy Does It
• How It Feels
• Vegetarians Over Time
07. Why They Do It: The Real Reasons People Ditch Meat
• The Reason Why
• Health Vegetarians and Ethical Vegetarians: Brothers from Another Mother
• Vegetarians Young and Old: Differing Motivations
• Why Vegans Do It
• The Changing Motivations of Vegetarians
• Secondary Reasons for Going Vegetarian
• Semi-Vegetarians: Why They Do It
08. Barriers: Why People Aren't Going Vegetarian (According to Them)
• The Four Big Ones
• Other Barriers
• Put Yourself in Their Leather Shoes
09. Former Vegetarians: No One Likes a Quitter
• How Many Are There?
• Why They're Quitting
• The Power of How
• Former Vegetarians: They're Just Different from You and Me
• Which Groups Are Most Likely to Backslide?
• What They Eat Now
• How Long Were They Vegetarian?
• Doctors Ditching Vegetarianism
10. Rise of the Meat Tooth: Meat Consumption at Home and Around the Globe
• A Nation of Meat Lovers
• The Century of Meat
• A New Hope
• Nature vs. Nurture
• Back Home in the USA: How Much Meat Is on American Plates?
• Age
• Gender
• Income
• Education
• Ethnicity
• Checking In on Chicken: A Few Notes About Poultry Consumption
• Giving Up Red Meat: A Good or Bad Thing?
• Fish Tales
11. Meat 2.0: What Vegetarians and Meat-Eaters Really Think of Vegetarian Meats
• Vegetarian Meat's Storied Roots
• Who Eats Vegetarian Meats?
• Why People Eat (or Don't Eat) Vegetarian Meats
• Laying It on the Table: Which Meat Substitutes Are Liked Best?
• Language Matters, Part I: Vegetarian, Vegan, or Meat-Free?
• Language Matters, Part II: Good Labels and Bad Labels
12. Animals Are Stupid, Emotionless, and Don't Feel Pain: How Eating Meat Affects Beliefs About Animals
• Moral Disengagement
• Paying No Mind to Animals
• The Question Is, Can They Suffer?
• Animals: Are They Like Us?
• Animals as People
13. Meat-Free Media: The Impact of Books, Videos, and Television on What People Eat
• The Omnivore's Dilemma
• The Simpsons
• Pamphlets
• Online Videos
• Media Coverage of Factory Farming
14. Messages That Motivate: Selling the Benefits of a Vegetarian Diet
• The Social Justice/World Hunger Message
• The Religious Message
• The Taste Message
• The Environmental Message
• The Animal Welfare Message
• The Health Message
• Concerns with the Health Message
• A Final Word About Motivations
15. Inspiring Change: A Research-Based Checklist on What Will Motivate the Public to Ditch Meat
• The Caveats
• Key Recommendations from Research on Vegetarians
• Key Recommendations from General Social-Psychology Research
Conclusion
Works Cited
About the Author
About the Publisher
October 15, 2016
i wanted to give 3.5 stars if that was possible.
October 1, 2016
A quick read on the impact of the food choices we make. Bits on ethical decisions, surveys on vegetarians etc.
April 27, 2014
This was short easy awesome read. Cooney very clearly and honestly lays out the results from numerous studies on vegetarian, vegan, and meat reduction behaviors. As a life long vegetarian who knows people on all aspects of the meat/veg spectrum (and people who have moved all over this spectrum) - I loved how he organized the motivations and reasoning found behind different types of food-related behavior.
Best of all, he even reveals how they think about each other - one of my favorite quotes:
"One study discovered that vegetarians look down on meat-eaters three times less than meat-eaters think they do". This explains so many conversations I've had! Good thing that vegetarians are a lot less judgmental than many assume. Cooney explains how beneficial this is: "When meat-eaters feel vegetarians are judging them they become more pro-meat and anti-vegetarian." But that is not why we're non-judgmental, it is just a side-effect. Really it turns out we're more judgmental about smokers and other issues that actually personally affect us. Plus we realize how freaking hard it is to have a healthy yummy diet of any kind that matches our values and fits within our time constraints and budgets. We aren't qualified to judge other people's dietary choices and trade-offs.
This book likely isn't for everyone but if you think it is for you (as I did as soon as I heard about it), you won't regret digging in. It was well written, easy to read, and full of information I have never seen anywhere else. Thank you Nick Cooney for writing this book!
Best of all, he even reveals how they think about each other - one of my favorite quotes:
"One study discovered that vegetarians look down on meat-eaters three times less than meat-eaters think they do". This explains so many conversations I've had! Good thing that vegetarians are a lot less judgmental than many assume. Cooney explains how beneficial this is: "When meat-eaters feel vegetarians are judging them they become more pro-meat and anti-vegetarian." But that is not why we're non-judgmental, it is just a side-effect. Really it turns out we're more judgmental about smokers and other issues that actually personally affect us. Plus we realize how freaking hard it is to have a healthy yummy diet of any kind that matches our values and fits within our time constraints and budgets. We aren't qualified to judge other people's dietary choices and trade-offs.
This book likely isn't for everyone but if you think it is for you (as I did as soon as I heard about it), you won't regret digging in. It was well written, easy to read, and full of information I have never seen anywhere else. Thank you Nick Cooney for writing this book!
August 30, 2016
Summary: Overall there is a major psychological barrier separating omnis and veg people, even when a person "cares" about animals their brain does this cute limbo thing to allow them to stay in their little bubbles.
So, nothing we didn't already know.
The main push of this book is to help activists approach getting people to change their eating habits more effectively, in essence the people the most likely to change. It is quite repetitive and offers nothing new, at least not for me and probably not someone else that has been in the veg community for awhile. I was also disappointed by the "science" offered in the title and the book, which was largely just in the form of surveys. Not exactly the science I was expecting.
So, nothing we didn't already know.
The main push of this book is to help activists approach getting people to change their eating habits more effectively, in essence the people the most likely to change. It is quite repetitive and offers nothing new, at least not for me and probably not someone else that has been in the veg community for awhile. I was also disappointed by the "science" offered in the title and the book, which was largely just in the form of surveys. Not exactly the science I was expecting.
January 20, 2014
"Veganomics" has instantly become a must-read and go-to guide for everyone involved in veg advocacy.
I know I found myself highlighting passages, scribbling notes in the margins and dog-earring pages, again and again.
Nick Cooney collates, analyzes and explains literally hundreds of studies about what does -- and does not -- persuade people to ditch meat.
He concedes that much more -- and better -- research needs to be done on veg-advocacy messaging. But he presents the best data currently available.
Considering what's at stake, it's imperative that veg advocates avail themselves of the information in "Veganomics."
I know I found myself highlighting passages, scribbling notes in the margins and dog-earring pages, again and again.
Nick Cooney collates, analyzes and explains literally hundreds of studies about what does -- and does not -- persuade people to ditch meat.
He concedes that much more -- and better -- research needs to be done on veg-advocacy messaging. But he presents the best data currently available.
Considering what's at stake, it's imperative that veg advocates avail themselves of the information in "Veganomics."
October 10, 2015
I was quite disappointed by this book if I'm honest. Once again the author fails to realise that it is VEGANism that encompasses vegetarianism, not the other way around. I found it quite painful to read about how in some parts of the book he referred to vegetarianism as excluding eggs yet unless you're a lacto-vegetarian you still eat eggs... and also that he said a vegetarian diet is healthful yet mentions the China Study & Forks Over Knives, which discuss how dairy (and all other animal) products are carcinogenic... Nevertheless it was interesting learning about the demographics of vegos etc.
September 12, 2014
Utterly and completely fantastic--I recently returned to be vegetarianism after several years and this book was so amazing --it's not preachy or righteous or overdone--everything it is saying is backed with major facts and the author's overriding concern with helping animals in any way possible won me over immediately. Just a fantastic book and everyone who is vegetarian or just concerned with sustainability, health, cruelty, and many other factors with meat eating should read this.
July 16, 2016
This book was really interesting. I have followed a vegetarian diet all my life but somehow had never considered that people giving up red meat and eating more fish and chicken actually results in more animal deaths...! I feel that it helped me to understand the mindset some meat eaters may hold and unlike other books I have seen on the topic, it actually drew on psychological research rather than just opinions.
June 15, 2016
I didn't like Cooney's first book. It actually made me want to give up activism, which I had done for years. But this one I ended up liking. It has a lot of good information and I think every vegetarian and vegan should check it out! It's also helpful for those who may be marketing a product to a veg audience, so that they have a better understanding of the research info that is out there.
February 8, 2014
3.5 stars. Some very interested facts and tips, but it could be included in much fewer pages. Most of the book was just wish-wash, and then occasionally very interesting fact or research result. However it's worth to read for any animal advocate.
July 26, 2016
While I found some of the data interesting in the demographics of a vegetarian, vegan and semi-vegitarian, I was bogged down by it. This book is directed to those who want to persuade meat eaters to become vegetarian. Since this is not me, I had a hard time connecting to it.
June 30, 2014
I didn't realize this was a book for evangelical vegetarians... Since I'm a vegetarian who sometimes eats fish and made the change for environmental reasons, I'm pretty much a second-class vegetarian according to this book.
January 25, 2014
A very easy read, mostly interesting but more importantly full of applicable and practical ideas about vegetarian/vegan advocacy.
April 19, 2014
Thought the book was more of a training manual for people who are trying to convert as many people as possible to vegetarian/vegan. First chapter or two were interesting, but after that it lost me.
April 26, 2014
Finished March 2014
July 6, 2014
Not really a pager turner but it did have lots of interesting info.
June 22, 2014
Good perspective on the "cost" of what we eat. Interesting report on surveys and what vegans "look like".
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