Is a plant-based diet just for gays? Real men don't need meat to live, say hegans - strong men who swapped steak for carrots
If you know English, you can certainly "decipher" how the term "hegan" originated - it is indeed a combination of the English pronoun HE (he) and the noun VEGAN. And the intention is to point out that even a man who has carrot ragout on his plate instead of steak can be... just a proper man. "Meat provides protein to the body and protein equals strength, that's an idea that has been and in many cases still is part of mainstream thinking," explains Richard McIlwan, CEO of the Vegetarian Society, of the direct correlation between meat consumption and masculinity.He is in effect talking about the so-called protein myth, an idea from the early 20th century, the essence of which is that protein is the key to physical strength. Although by the 1970s, research was beginning to emerge that challenged this claim, to this day many are still convinced of its truth. This is also because it is often supported by celebrities. Indeed, Jeremy Clarkson, made famous by the TV show Top Gear, claimed in the media last summer that 'normal men eat meat'. The implication is that men who do not eat meat are 'abnormal'. And so it's no wonder that many people still look down on vegan men.
It is manly not to eat meat, but we need to give this practice a name...
While many men take meat consumption for granted (and in the UK, for example, the average man's diet produces 40% more carbon emissions than the average woman's), the mindset about eating habits is moving forward - and if we stay in Britain for a while, according to a study in The Lancet's Planetary Health, meat consumption across the population there has fallen by 17% in the last decade. So it's no surprise that heganism, which could also be described as a modern version of veganism designed specifically for men, is on the rise. But why do men need their own veganism at all? Because the existing one is supposedly too feminine, and men need their own "trend" that will not attract any negative (abnormal...) label, which is otherwise stereotypically associated with many other "feminine" activities, such as swimsuit weight loss, skin care, etc. Simply masculine veganism (and yes, if you are now wondering if someone has already "invented" she-ganism alongside he-ganism, that has already happened too...).
Prejudice is behind everything
Given the above, it probably comes as no surprise that even among men there are many who would gladly stop eating meat, but...they are afraid of the reactions of those around them."We found that many men are interested in eating less meat, but need some social permission to do so," says Emma Roe, a researcher at the University of Southampton. It was here that they investigated the barriers that stand in the way of men already wanting to give up meat. "The men in our year-long study experienced social isolation among groups of male friends and acquaintances after they reduced their animal protein intake," Roe also added. And so the emergence of a male version of veganism is more than appropriate, according to some. Others, on the other hand, argue that as long as humanity is still working with the classic formulas where what is feminine is bad for men and detracts from their masculinity (and so they have to create different names for the same thing), it is actually just re-enforcing the stereotypes...
Zdroj: Giphy
But however radically male opinion (and that of other meat-eating women) on giving up meat may be (not to mention naming the practice), the fact is that meat and dairy consumption is a growing problem for the planet. According to a 2013 UN report, 14.5% of global greenhouse gas emissions were caused by the livestock industry, while research published in the journal Science in 2018 directly stated that if humanity stopped consuming meat and dairy, it would be possible to reduce the amount of agricultural land by up to 75% and still effectively feed humanity. "We need to change our eating habits, the planet cannot support billions of carnivores," the world-renowned naturalist David Attenborough made abundantly clear in a programme.
But data is one thing and the real world is another. Men just don't want to be the "soy boys", even if they don't actually need "flab" to live and satisfy their appetites. And so it is now up to the hegans to try and change the perception of plant-based diets in the male population. Because whether a man is really a man is certainly not conditioned by the fact that his diet is laced with meat.
