Food‐related value‐orientations, attitudes, and beliefs of vegetarians and non‐vegetarians

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Abstract
This paper reports the results of research performed to determine the influences of value‐, attitude‐, and belief‐ patterns on the food‐related behavior, vegetarianism. Data were collected by questionnaire from 487 respondents, approximately one‐fourth of whom were self‐reported vegetarians. The vegetarian group adhered more strongly to the food‐related value‐orientations of ethics, religion, and health than non‐vegetarians. Belief patterns also differed, as the vegetarians believed in consuming “health” foods and distrusted food processing and additives. Non‐vegetarians showed greater agreement with the “nutrition is important” scale than vegetarians. The discriminant analysis results indicated that over 90 percent of the sample was correctly classified as either vegetarians or non‐vegetarians when actual group membership was compared with predicted group membership on the basis of responses to value‐orientation, attitude, and belief scales. These data provide strong support for the fact that attitudes, beliefs, and value‐orientations are important factors in influencing food consumption behavior.

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