klo 17.00–17.15 Apurahatutkija Kadri Aavik (Helsingin yliopisto): How does going vegan change men’s relationship to food and eating?

Lauantain (16.1.) ohjelma

Food and eating practices are gendered and linked to men and masculinities in particular ways. Meat eating, unhealthy eating and keeping a distance from household cooking are food practices and cultural patterns typically associated with men and masculinities. By rejecting the consumption of non-human animals, vegan men challenge these dominant patterns of masculinity.

This presentation discusses how going vegan has changed men’s relationship to food and eating, based on interviews with over 60 vegan men in Finland and Estonia. Although personal health was a reason for going vegan only for some men and several men did not consciously pursue healthy eating, some even claiming to be “junk food vegans”, going vegan inevitably changed their relationship to food and eating.