Vegetarians and vegans, all the same? A study of perceived differences in regard to practice and cause engagement[Végétariens et véganes, tous les mêmes ? Une étude des différences perçues au regard de l’engagement dans la pratique et dans la cause]

In the literature, practices consisting of excluding meat or animal products are grouped under the term veg*nism. However, being vegan can be considered much more than being a vegetarian. Giving a general label (veg*ns) to a group of people who may turn out to be heterogeneous thus, seems questionable both from a theoretical and managerial point of view. Semi-structured interviews conducted in two waves (wave 1 in 2018 and wave 2 in 2022) on a total of 19 individuals highlight the inadequacy of a definition based on practices/motivation/beliefs alone and, underline the major role of engagement in the practice and in the cause to understand what differentiates/gathers these individuals both at the level of their group of belonging (within vegetarians or within vegans) and of the dissociative group (between vegetarians and vegans). Managerial and societal implications are proposed following this analysis.