Facilitators and Barriers for Adopting a Plant-Based Diet: Results From a Pilot Study Among Vegans in the United States

Abstract

Research has demonstrated the health benefits of shifting from an animal product diet to a plant-based diet. However, social beliefs may be barriers to eating plant-based. Thus, we determined facilitators and barriers to transitioning to plant-based consumption. U.S. adults consuming an exclusively plant-based (i.e., vegan) diet (n = 1,141, 86% female, 81% non-Hispanic White) were recruited from 38 vegan Facebook groups and surveyed from December 2020 through January 2021. Results from chi square analyses indicated significant relationships between length of veganism and main motivator for becoming vegan (χ2 = 37.07, P < .001), most effective facilitator in helping flexitarians to fully become vegan (χ2 = 17.35, P = .001), most effective strategy in helping others become vegan (χ2 = 12.07, P = .017), and main barrier to becoming vegan (χ2 = 23.80, P < .001). There were significant relationships between time to become vegan and perceived main facilitator for the recent increase in transitioning to veganism (χ2 = 16.81, P = .019), and main barrier to becoming vegan (χ2 = 24.34, P < .001). Future interventions can use these results to address facilitators and barriers and create a toolkit for transitioning to plant-based consumption and improving dietary behaviors in the United States.