Study on “disgust for meat” - Take Heart - Christian Vegetarian Association

Study on “disgust for meat”

Researchers at the University of California’s (UCLA) Center of Behavior, Evolution, and Culture, surveyed 945 adults identified as moral vegetarians (those who avoid meat based on moral/environmental beliefs), health vegetarians (those who avoid meat based on health considerations), and taste vegetarians (those who avoid meat based on taste preferences).

Their results show that moral vegetarianism conforms to traditional explanations of moral reasoning, i.e. moral vegetarians’ disgust reactions to meat are caused by, rather than causal of, their moral beliefs.

They also found that meat consumption was positively correlated with disgust sensitivity, and individuals who reported avoiding meat for moral reasons were not more sensitive to disgust than those who avoided meat for other reasons. It was also found that women are more disgust sensitive than men, disgust sensitivity declines with age, and it was most pronounced in regard to red meat.

To read the full report please visit http://www.sscnet.ucla.edu/anthro/faculty/fessler/
pubs/FesslerEtAlAppetite2003.pdf