Don’t hate the vegan, hate the moral dilemma

Within the life cycle of a successful social movement, typically come periods of backlash. As interest in a cause swells, and more people hop on board, new ideologies start seeping into popular culture, mainstream media, big businesses, even our homes.

As a result, panic can ensue; humans aren’t typically comfortable with change, nor with having their values challenged. And when those values have anything to do with what we eat, it seems discomfort can reach a unique degree. Without a doubt, veganism, as a diet, a lifestyle and especially as a movement, has permeated the mainstream. And people are pissed.

There is much psychology at play within the defensiveness people experience when confronted with vegan views, especially when they disrupt commonly comfortable contexts. “There’s a psychological phenomenon called the ‘do-gooder derogation,’ ” explains Matthew Feinberg, assistant professor of organizational behaviour at the Rotman School of Management. “People dislike ‘moral rebels’ — those who take a moral stance on something that most others do not — because they feel do-gooders are negatively judging them and dislike them.” When it comes to veganism, “non-vegan individuals feel threatened because they feel like vegans perceive them as morally suspect or morally inferior.” However, he notes, “oftentimes the vegan is making no such judgments.”

As a result of this threat, Feinberg says, people will often “get angry at and dislike vegans.” And to cope, some may “rationalize away the immorality of killing animals so humans can eat them” via the three Ns: convincing themselves it is natural, necessary and normal.

Of course we now know that for much of the western world eating animal products is no longer necessary, their production now far from natural.

There is another scenario for those who do recognize the moral dilemma of eating animals but don’t want to change. “Your values might say that suffering should be prevented, and you might know that factory farming causes suffering, but you find it difficult to put your values into practice because you enjoy eating meat, find it convenient, or it’s what your friends do,” says Patricia Marino, chair of philosophy at the University of Waterloo. “If you really don’t want to change those actions, you might find other options,” such as changing values “or lying to yourself about what your values are.”

And thus comes the often negative, even visceral reaction to veganism. Our mere existence forces others to re-evaluate their values, actions and, seemingly most difficult, food preferences. Some will cope with anger, some with rationalization and some will lie to themselves. And some will change.

Whatever the reaction, it’s clear that it speaks much more of the individual, rather than of a movement that simply seeks to show compassion for animals.