Plant-based diets, consisting of strict veganism, vegetarianism, or flexitarianism, have become so popular that it’s safe to say they’re no longer a fad. In fact, surveys indicate that 4–6% of American adults follow a plant-based diet. However, maintaining a plant-based diet can be difficult for many individuals; a 2014 survey from Faunalytics (formerly the Humane Research Council) found that 84% of vegetarians and vegans give up their diet, with a third of those people giving up after three months or less.
Some may believe that making dietary decisions requires willpower. However, that’s not always the case, especially when it comes to vegan and vegetarian cuisine. According to a study that was published in the fall issue of PLOS One, our ability to follow a strict vegetarian diet may really be substantially influenced by our genes.
How genetics can affect the consumption of vegetarian and vegan food
The research from Northwestern University’s School of Medicine, which was published in October 2023, is the first to look at how heredity affects a person’s capacity to follow a strict vegetarian diet. Researchers wondered how many vegetarians in the world still ate meat, chicken, and fish, which led them to develop this goal. Considering that a person’s metabolism and taste preferences are just two examples of additional genetically determined factors that may influence dietary choices2, the researchers questioned whether there was a gene that defined an individual’s propensity for vegetarianism.
By using information from the UK Biobank, a major biological database, researchers were able to compare the genetic profiles of 329,455 control people with 5,324 vegetarians who abstained from eating any meat, fish, or poultry. To eliminate factors linked to ethnicity that could affect the results, all respondents were drawn from a homogeneous sample of White Caucasian people.
Three genes were discovered to be substantially linked to strict vegetarianism (with another 31 showing probable relation), according to research. Researchers speculate that a person’s ability to maintain vegetarianism may be influenced by how they metabolize fats, as two of the three important genes were linked to brain function and fat metabolism in the body. “Lipid profiles of foods from animal sources are significantly different from those of plant sources,” the researchers noted in their paper. The researchers hypothesised that people with these particular “vegetarian” genes could be able to internally create these lipid components without consuming meat. Conversely, those lacking this particular genetic profile might have to consume meat-based foods in order to get these vital fats, which would increase their desire for meat if they didn’t eat it.
Note that this is just the first study to suggest a connection of this kind; much more research is needed, especially on individuals from diverse ethnic backgrounds, to determine more conclusively whether these three genes do contribute to vegetarianism. That being said, there is a lot of intriguing potential here to investigate, and the findings may provide some comfort to those who may be feeling guilty about giving up their plant-based lifestyles. “We believe that there is a hard-wired component to vegetarianism that many people are unaware of,” corresponding study author Nabeel Yaseen, MD, PhD, said in a press release.
Other elements supporting a plant-based diet
Genetics aren’t everything, of course. DNA be damned, there are a plethora of additional societal and cultural rationales for choosing a plant-based or vegetarian diet:
Culture and religion
Vegetarianism is an integral part of everyday life and practice in many cultures and faiths around the world. For example, Rastafarians in Jamaica follow a vegetarian diet by eating what they term Ital food: no salt, oil, and meat, and instead enjoying tons of natural foods from the Earth. Because of the many well-known Indian religions, including Buddhism, Hinduism, and Jainism, which promote plant-based diets, a staggering 24 percent of the country’s population can be described as vegetarian. However, these are only a few instances; a plant-based diet is valued by a number of other religions and cultures on almost every continent.
The environment and morality
Dedications to consume less or no meat-based products are growing along with concerns about animal welfare and climate change. This is partly because raising cattle for meat is responsible for at least 14.5% of all greenhouse gas emissions worldwide. Animal-based diets release twice as much greenhouse gas emissions into the atmosphere as plant-based foods, according to another study3. In addition, a lot of the concentrated farming operations that produce large numbers of animals for the meat industry are well known for contaminating the nearby air and rivers by disposing of chemicals, animal excrement, and other waste products. The ecosystems and local communities are adversely affected by this.
Concerning ethics, it is estimated that 80 billion animals are murdered annually to satisfy the world’s expanding demand for meat products. Many animals suffer horrendous abuse during their brief lives before being murdered for meat, especially those that come from large-scale factory farm operations. Inhumane treatment is also inflicted upon workers in the meat processing and packaging industries4, who get little pay, are vulnerable to severe accidents, psychological distress5, and have few safeguards. These facts have compelled many animal lovers to adopt a more plant-based diet.
Well-being
Last but not least, there is health, which may be the most well-known reason why more and more people are turning to plant-based diets. Research has shown that eating a plant-based diet lowers the risk of heart disease6, cancer7, type 2 diabetes8, kidney disease9, and improved gut health10. One major way that a plant-based diet reduces inflammation throughout the body is by generally increasing the amount of fiber, vitamins, minerals, and plant compounds it contains. However, if a plant-based diet isn’t intentionally followed, it can expose adherents to vitamin and mineral deficiencies that are more difficult to obtain from plants, such as iron and vitamin B12.
The final word
Yes, scientists have uncovered some hereditary variables that can potentially make it easier for some people (and harder for others) to rigorously adopt a vegetarian diet. But there are so many other social and cultural forces at play that might override (or make less essential) what’s encoded in your DNA. The flexitarian diet may be more appealing to you if you wish to eat less meat but are unable to give up meat entirely.
