Media coverage of veganism

Context: Dissertation project for Master's of Science (MSc) degree in Food Security and Sustainable Agriculture

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Date: 2020

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Abstract: A growing number of stakeholders are calling for a transition towards more plant-based or vegan diets to improve both human and planetary health. Over the last ten years, veganism has grown in popularity in the UK, offering an interesting insight into how minority practices can help shape consumption practices more broadly. Previous studies looking at the representation of veganism in the British print media have focused on short time frames and are, therefore, unable to identify long-term trends. This project identifies basic trends in the coverage and representation of veganism in the British print media between 2010 and 2019. Quantitative analysis found a 1,400% increase in the number of hits for a vegan search found on LexisNexis between 2010 and 2019, with the largest increase in articles occurring between 2017 and 2019. A more in-depth qualitative content analysis found the representation of vegan diets in the media has also changed over the last ten years, with an overall trend towards less negative reporting. While articles portraying veganism in a negative light made up over 50% of the sample in 2010, this had decreased to under 30% by 2019. The materials and meanings of veganism as a social practice were more dominant in the sample studied than the competences required to be a vegan. This project highlights the growing normalisation of veganism in the British print media. As veganism becomes more socially visible, there also appears to be a trend towards highlighting the materiality of veganism and self-related motives over the environmental and ethical reasons for adopting this niche diet.

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