What does Being Vegan Say about Who You Are?
Documentaries such as The Game Changers – which focuses on highly accomplished athletes who happen to be vegan – have made a significant impact, doing plenty to boost exclusively plant-based diets in the U.S and abroad. However, despite the growth of vegan power, most surveys say that between 2-6% of people have embraced this lifestyle. The statistics are improving on a yearly basis, but vegans are still very much mavericks in the culinary world, and this fact begs the question – are there specific personality types attracted to veganism and if so, what are these types?
Three Main Reasons for Veganism
There are three main factors that attract people to veganism – care for animals, environmental friendliness, and health and wellbeing. These reasons inherently say plenty about the people who believe in them enough to make a change. They suggest that vegans have a broader outlook of happiness and well-being, taking into account the well-being of all sentient things – not just themselves and their immediate family. Vegans also display heightened sensitivity to the needs of future generations. Meat is known to have the highest emissions factor of any food, so cutting it from your diet is one of the most powerful ways your family can lower its carbon footprint.
A Rare Personality Type
Vegans come from just about all walks of life and all professions – suggesting there are no set ‘personality types’ that characterize them as a whole. However, one aspect that does unite many vegans is a confidant personality style. The latter is defined as being thoughtful, creative, instinctive, empathic, caring, and honest. Confidants are driven by passion and meaning and they often dedicate large amounts of time to causes that are dear to their hearts. This is the case for the millions of vegans across the globe who first chose this lifestyle because of their love of animals and their belief that all sentient things have a right to a life free of pain; a full life in which they are allowed to live to their full lifespan.
Why Plant Foods are a Wise Choice
If you have a child who has embraced veganism with glee, you will probably agree that they are intelligent! A study published in the British Medical Journal found that intelligent kids are more likely to become vegetarian as adults. The study was based on around 8,200 men and women aged 30 and above whose IQ was tested at age 10. Around 20 years later, 2.5% became vegetarian and a large percentage of this group had scored high in IQ tests a decade back. Vegetarianism isn’t as big a step as veganism, of course, but it is at least a step in the 100% plant-based direction!
Vegans come from a plethora of backgrounds and professions. However, the main reasons why they embrace this lifestyle suggests they are empathic, purpose-driven, and interested in the environment. Research, shared in fascinating documentaries on Netflix and other channels, has shown that you can have just about any aim and achieve – or even surpass it – while fueling body and mind with a plant-based diet.