Summary

A recent investigation reveals that vegetarians tend to reject meat with feelings of disgust, echoing the intense aversion meat-eaters have toward taboo foods like human flesh or feces. Conversely, disliked vegetables such as beets or Brussels sprouts are usually dismissed simply due to distaste, which is more about taste or texture.

This finding indicates that the rejection of meat is rooted in more profound psychological and evolutionary factors, possibly related to pathogen avoidance. Researchers speculate that this emotional reaction intensifies with intentional avoidance of meat, as seen during initiatives like Veganuary.

Key Facts

• Disgust vs. Distaste: Meat is turned away with disgust, while vegetables are rejected out of distaste.
• Pathogen Avoidance: The disgust response toward meat could be an evolutionary mechanism to help humans steer clear of disease.
• Behavior Reinforcement: Intentionally avoiding meat could amplify the disgust reaction.

Research conducted by the University of Exeter found that many vegetarians experience disgust similarly to how others react to eating human flesh, feces, or dog meat. The aim was to explore if the psychological processes behind rejecting meat differ from those for vegetables.

The online study involved 300 participants, mostly vegetarians, who indicated that their rejection of disliked vegetables stemmed from distaste, a basic aversion linked to taste, texture, or smell.

In contrast, when participants disliked certain meats considered appetizing by omnivores—like roast chicken or beef steak—they reacted with disgust. This parallels how meat-eaters feel about the idea of consuming human meat or dog meat.

Professor Natalia Lawrence pointed out, “This evidence highlights how we reject meat and vegetables for different reasons. Finding meat disgusting can aid in avoiding it, which benefits health and the environment.”

Other studies suggest that feelings of disgust may intensify when individuals consciously reduce or avoid meat, such as during Veganuary.

This research, published in Appetite, involved 252 participants who reject meat and 57 omnivores. They reviewed images of various foods, including appealing meat and disliked vegetables like olives, sprouts, and raw aubergine. Participants responded to how these foods made them feel regarding disgust and distaste.

Questions aimed to differentiate between disgust and distaste in their food rejection responses. To provide a comparison, meat-eaters also viewed images of universally considered disgusting foods: human flesh, dog meat, and feces.

Researchers documented 557 instances of meat rejection and 670 cases of vegetable rejection. Participants shared their reasons for turning down particular items, consistently indicating that their dislike for vegetables came from distaste, while their rejection of meat exhibited a similar disgust pattern.

Dr. Elisa Becker, the lead author, noted, “Meat eaters reacted to the thought of consuming disgusting items like feces the same way vegetarians reacted to meat they wanted to avoid, contrasting starkly with their responses to rejected vegetables.”

She added, “While we often believe we’re just turning down food that we don’t want, our findings indicate that the reasoning behind this rejection is quite different. It appears that evolution has shaped this aversion to help protect us from pathogens present in meat.”