Representations of death among Italian vegetarians: An ethnographic research on environment, disgust and transcendence

Abstract

This paper focuses on the motives for vegetarian choices in contemporary Italian food culture, with specific reference to the role of the representations of death. The study adopts a qualitative research design aimed at an in-depth exploration of the reasons for avoiding meat, following an ethnographic method. Twenty-two participants (55% women, 45% men) aged 19-74, all vegetarians or vegans, mainly from Northern and Central Italy, were involved. Data from the Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis were examined according to the qualitative thematic analysis: the results show the role of death in the construction of disgust towards meat, running parallel with an emphasis on spirituality, ethical treatment of animals and the environment as reasons for avoiding meat, in particular, the concern-generating disgust and its relationship with the representation of death as a contaminating essence. The basis of disgust lies in this connection, from which the idea that oral consumption of contaminants characterized by corruptive properties, passing through the flesh of dead animals to humans, derives. The role of anti-speciesism is considered as a latent perspective, which may influence the vegetarian and vegan choices.

Understanding Attitudes towards Reducing Meat Consumption for Environmental Reasons. A Qualitative Synthesis Review

“…The first synthesized finding states that environmental concerns can be both a trigger for adopting [32][33][34], and reinforcement for sustaining [34][35][36], a meatless diet. Even though only for a minority, there are consumers for whom environmental reasons were the initial motivation to become vegetarian.…”

“…Extracted findings show that love for nature can prompt consumers to become vegetarian [33]. Other consumers see a meatless diet as a way to reinforce their commitment to life on Earth [34]. People may also adopt a vegetarian diet as a consequence of their environmentally friendly lifestyle [35].…”

Ethical Motivation and Vegetarian Dieting: The Underlying Role of Anti-speciesist Attitudes

“…In cultures across the world, the majority of people eat meat (European Vegetarian and Animals News Alliance, 2013), highlighting that speciesism is a pervasive ideology. Following a vegetarian diet, however, is a direct way of opposing speciesism, proclaiming to oneself and the public that humans should not embody an inherently higher moral status than other animals (Cole, & Morgan, 2011;DeLessio-Parson, 2017;Janssen, Busch, Rödiger, & Hamm, 2016;Menzies & Sheeshka, 2012;Testoni, Ghellar, Rodelli, De Cataldo, & Zamperini, 2017;Torti, SPECIESISM AND VEGETARIANISM 6 2017;Wrenn, 2017). Rejecting speciesism may instill in one a feeling of self-efficacy in food choice, out of which a sense of ethical motivation may emerge and propel one to eschew meat.…”

Solastalgia's mourning and the slowly evolving effect of asbestos pollution: A qualitative study in Italy

“…In the first phase, the recorded conversations were transcribed verbatim, whereas the interviewer's questions were used as notes and only the participants' answers were processed. In the second phase, Atlas-ti computer-assisted qualitative data analysis was selected because it permits examining the narratives in terms of their principal concepts (Testoni et al, 2017) on the basis of both prior ideas that were inherent to the research question (grief experiences between ‛restoration' of ‛loss' orientation) and concepts that only became clear as the analysis proceeded. In the third phase, the text was segmented into significant ‛quotations' to transform them into ‛hermeneutic unities' through the creation of the ‛codes' (basic categories).…”