Study claims vegetarians more 'ambitious' as meat eaters call out 'oversimplification'

Fox News

19-07-2025

A new study is claiming that vegetarians are more driven by power and achievement than meat eaters. While some people agree with this, critics say that labeling people by diet does more harm than good.
Vegetarians value achievement and power significantly more than omnivores and put less value on safety, security and kindness, according to a meta-analysis done by John Nezlek, a psychology professor at SWPS University in Poland.
Nezlek analyzed three previous studies examining the "basic human values" of over 3,700 vegetarians and non-vegetarians in both the U.S. and Poland.
Participants responded to versions of the Portrait Values Questionnaire, created by social psychologist Shalom Schwartz, to assess 10 core human values: universalism, benevolence, conformity, tradition, security, self-direction, stimulation, hedonism, achievement and power.
Nezlek, who studies the psychology of vegetarians, expected them to be more focused on nature and personal relationships – universalism and benevolence – and buck tradition, while expecting meat eaters to crave power and achievement.
"I assumed [the vegetarians] would have certain pro-social values," Nezlek told Fox News Digital. "The public misperceives vegetarians as weak. They think of the stereotypes: They're tree huggers, they don't want to kill Bambi."
He added, "And there's this long tradition of associating meat with masculinity, power and success."
Nezlek, however, also a professor emeritus at the College of William & Mary in Virginia, found in his own U.S. studies that, although vegetarians are often non-conformist and value universalism, they were surprisingly less concerned with benevolence and security and were more power-oriented.
That pattern led him to launch the larger meta-analysis, which confirmed the findings.
Published in May in the journal PLOS One, the analysis showed that, across all three studies, stimulation, achievement and power were more important for the vegetarian groups, which also included some vegans.
Vegetarianism is linked more to independence and non-conformity than just compassion for animals or the environment or concerns about health – the main reasons people adopt the diet, Nezlek concluded.
He estimates that only about 5% of the U.S. is vegetarian.
"The big story in this data is that vegetarians hold their beliefs strongly — and because it's a minority position, they need to have guts and a strong character to do that," Nezlek said.
"Just because they love animals doesn't mean they're weak or wallflowers," he added.
He said the findings are a reminder that stereotypes are not always accurate.
While results varied slightly between U.S. and Polish participants, they were "frighteningly similar," Nezlek said.
In terms of limitations, the study did not examine other cultural regions like Latin America or Asia.
Nor could it determine whether values shape diet or the reverse, but Nezlek said he believes being vegetarian may strengthen character.
Some vegetarians and vegans said they've seen Nezlek's findings to be true in their personal lives.
"Just because they love animals doesn't mean they're weak or wallflowers."
"Vegetarians often face social pushback from co-workers, family and broader society," Markus Maibaum, a plant-based food expert at Veganivore in Germany and vegan of eight years, told Fox News Digital.
"That pressure can lead to distancing from unsupportive environments and a stronger focus on personal resilience and independence."
Britt Menhart, executive director of Misfits Coven, a vegan-owned animal sanctuary in Pennsylvania, said becoming vegan has boosted her confidence, her ability to advocate and her strategic thinking skills.
"I have seen vegetarians and vegans from many diverse backgrounds become powerhouses in other avenues of life, including starting and owning small businesses, rocking the music industry, speeding up the corporate ladders and starting nonprofit organizations," Menhart said.
"Choosing meat isn't about dominance or tradition – it's about quality, transparency and respect for the craft of food."
Ryan McCormick, co-founder of New York-based Goldman McCormick Public Relations and a vegetarian of 15 years, called the results "encouraging" but said he doubts they'll shift public opinion.
Others, including meat eaters, find labeling people based on diet hard to swallow.
"People adopt dietary approaches – whether vegan, vegetarian, ketogenic, carnivore, omnivore or anything in between – for a wide range of reasons," said Nick Norwitz, a Harvard-educated researcher and metabolic health educator.
"To cluster individuals based on what they eat and then extrapolate conclusions about their personal values is a dangerous oversimplification," Norwitz told Fox News Digital.
"I believe this notion undermines the complexity of human motivation and does more harm than good."
Luis Mata, co-founder of the Florida-based online butcher shop Meat N' Bone, said buying into any labels is "lazy."
"The idea that meat eaters are driven by conformity is as lazy as assuming vegetarians are joyless," Mata told Fox News Digital.
"Extremes on either end of the diet spectrum miss the point," he added.
"Choosing meat isn't about dominance or tradition – it's about quality, transparency and respect for the craft of food."
Both sides, Mata added, care deeply about where their food comes from and who it affects.