Hi everyone!
I hope this finds you all happy and well :) It’s been a loooong time since I’ve been on the board…
Some of you might know me from www.NonviolenceUnited.org, www.VeganShirt.com, or from our video put out last year www.VeganVideo.org.
Well, I’m in grad school and moving into my research phase. My research in a nutshell is focusing on “consumer dissonance” (based on the concept of cognitive dissonance), or why and how it is that “ethical consumers” sometimes ignore their own ethics.
I’m looking to define the “career” path of Vegans (how they came to be Vegan, motivations, etc.), but more specifically I’m looking to find out why some people who know the consequences of their consumer choices still are able to suppress their own values and make choices that go against those values – like environmentalists (who know the environmental impacts of eating animals) who continue to eat meat/animal products; how Animal Rights activists and/or those who care about animals and know the truth about the meat/egg/dairy industry continue to be Vegetarian but not Vegan or maybe not even Veg (my focus is on food consumption).
I know these questions feel confrontational for people, so I’m framing it more as an “exploration of ethical consumers” and my interview questions will hone in on what I’m looking for (rather than asking people point blank why they are making choices against their own ethics – big ol’ walls go up). I’m laying it out there for the Vegans on this board because I’m guessing that, like me, you may know people who would be perfect to be interviewed for this research.
So, I’m looking for folks (including Vegans, Veg, former-Veg, meat-eaters, etc.) who would like to be interviewed and/or who might know people (family members, friends, co-workers, etc.) who are aware of many of the issues and continue to eat in certain ways.
FYI, the interviews can be of anyone (over 18 years of age) all over the country/world – most interviews will be done by phone or via Skype (online phone software). Those folks I find locally (Boulder/Denver, CO), I’d love to meet face-to-face, but it’s not a requirement.
You may read more about the research project on my research website at www.mattbear.com
If anyone has questions, feel free to contact me either on VeganForum or through my research website.
Thanks so much. And thank you for all that you do!
All one,
:) matt
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