The Way to Someone’s Mind Is through Their Stomach: Vegans and Culinary Activism
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Date
2025
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Abstract
This article aims to understand how vegans promote a society without animal exploitation through food. Based on material from three years of fieldwork with young vegans in Santiago, Chile, this research shows that vegans utilize commensality and social media to present food as a joyful and friendly way to convince others about the viability of following a plant-based diet, avoiding conflict and evading talking about animals’ exploitation. The interviewees mentioned that sharing their dishes with non-vegans is a form of activism. This involves presenting new flavours and preparations and disseminating know-how about vegan cuisine, including information about ingredients and recipes. The sociological literature on lifestyle movements emphasizes that their followers employ consumption to promote changes. This research goes beyond because it argues that food is a pragmatic mechanism for socializing others into performing a political idea in everyday life.
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Keywords
Activism, Chile, Food practices, Lifestyle movement