According to a report by the Vegan Society, 41% of men either plan on or are interested in becoming vegan, but a number of barriers are preventing them doing so.

After research by the charity indicated a gender imbalance within the vegan population, its latest report, Veganism and Masculinity: Challenging Stereotypes and Embracing Change, set out to dig deeper into the reasons behind this.

Exploring the views of both vegan and non-vegan men, the report found that the most significant deterrents from a vegan lifestyle were concerns about taste, health and nutrition, but also gender-specific barriers around the perceived link between meat-eating and notions of what it means to be ‘masculine’. Out of the men who were interested in veganism, 47% were concerned about unsupportive family and friends.

“This … highlights the importance of encouraging men, specifically, to adopt a vegan lifestyle and providing resources to help them overcome potential barriers”

“We know that women are more likely to be vegan than men, but our recent research suggests that there are more men open to the idea of going vegan than previously thought,” says The Vegan Society’s research and policy officer, Alexander Huntley, commenting on the findings. “This finding highlights the importance of encouraging men, specifically, to adopt a vegan lifestyle and providing resources to help them overcome potential barriers.

“The report calls attention to factors preventing men from adopting a vegan lifestyle, which gives us a great foundation of knowledge to support our work and inform our creation of resources that can tackle misconceptions around vegan food and help provide a sense of community for those considering veganism.

“We encourage any men who are interested in veganism to visit our Vegan and Thriving pages which are full of information, advice and words directly from vegan men about their vegan journey and how their veganism relates to their masculinity.”