It doesn’t feel long ago that having a plant-based diet was seen as the height of wellness and wealth. Veganism was repeatedly represented online as clean and cool; social media was saturated with videos of colourful and organic produce, presenting plant-based eating as not just nutritionally superior but also visually desirable. Supermarkets and restaurants quickly responded to this shift, expanding vegan product ranges and promoting meat alternatives as innovative. For many people, adopting a plant-based diet was not just a health decision but also a lifestyle statement and a signal to others that they were aware of environmental and ethical challenges.
For many people, adopting a plant-based diet was not just a health decision but also a lifestyle statement...
Political discourse influences how plant-based eating is understood as it is not just viewed as a dietary choice, but as entangled with wider debates surrounding climate and environmental activism. For those who do not align with these debates, food choices function as an expression of identity and as symbolic of political attitudes.
In recent years, this ‘ideal’ diet seems to have been replaced by a high protein, meat-heavy diet. Supermarkets have decreased the size and scope of their plant-based options, and subsequently expanded high protein options to have sections and lines fully dedicated to them. This shift reflects changing priorities in individuals, where protein is increasingly marketed as essential for the body. Online wellness culture is now centred around muscular and hyper-disciplined bodies, showcasing foods such as steak, eggs and chicken. There is a symbolic status to these items; they are a luxury and are even often security tagged in supermarkets, reinforcing the idea that consuming these foods displays your access to better resources and a commitment to self-improvement in an ‘elite’ lifestyle.
There is a symbolic status to these items; they are a luxury and are even often security tagged in supermarkets...
When thinking about associations and representations of different foods in contemporary media, veganism and plant-based foods are often related to ideas of femininity and liberalism; a ‘woke mindset’, while meat and whole-foods have masculine and hunter connotations. Plant-based eating is often portrayed as ethically, and perhaps even emotionally, driven, reinforcing gendered stereotypes around choices in food.
Furthermore, there are claims online that soy products increase oestrogen levels and therefore reduce masculinity. Soy contains phytoestrogens, which are plant compounds that have a similar structure to oestrogen but are a lot weaker. Despite research disproving the idea, this false narrative has circulated the media, particularly within online fitness and more conservative communities. Perhaps it is these anxieties surrounding gender and sustainability within politics that has caused plant-based diets to be viewed as a broader cultural agenda rather than a personal choice by some.
Perhaps it is these anxieties surrounding gender and sustainability within politics that has caused plant-based diets to be viewed as a broader cultural agenda
Although there is some evidence that politics has influenced the decline in plant-based diets, it could be more linked to social media trends or the wider cost of living crisis. This not only impacts the money needed to buy food, but also the time, energy and access to resources. The reality of these diets is that they require planning and time to maintain. At the same time, protein-heavy foods are frequently marketed towards productivity and fitness, positioned as quick and efficient options.
While it is simplistic of me to attribute dietary trends to just political identity, the shifting status of plant-based and protein-heavy diets may reflect how everyday consumption mirrors changes in ideologies. Food has always functioned as a social signal, and examining these patterns demonstrates the performance in what we eat.