Our society tends to have a pretty established narrative around vegetarians. They’re the gentle ones, the planet lovers and tree huggers; sometimes, maybe a bit annoying. But a new study is flipping that tofu burger on its head. According to a new study, vegetarians tend to be more rebellious than their omnivorous counterparts, and that’s not the only finding.
In a sweeping analysis spanning two countries and over 3,800 people, psychologist John B. Nezlek found that vegetarians actually care less about tradition, conformity, and even benevolence than meat-eaters do. And here’s the kicker: they score higher on values like achievement, stimulation, and power. Yes, power.
Plant-based power
There are currently over 1.5 billion vegetarians worldwide, accounting for approximately 22% of the global population. The reasons for adopting a vegetarian lifestyle are varied. For some individuals, it may be rooted in religious beliefs. For instance, in India, religions such as Hinduism, Jainism, and Buddhism promote vegetarianism as a principle of non-violence (ahimsa) towards all living beings. Others choose vegetarianism for health reasons, environmental concerns, ethical considerations regarding animal welfare, or personal taste preferences. Additionally, in certain regions, economic factors and limited access to meat products make plant-based diets more prevalent.
Nezlek’s research, published in PLOS ONE in May 2025, looked at basic human values through the lens of diet. He ran three large-scale surveys: one in the United States and two in Poland. Each used a standard psychological tool called Schwartz’s Portrait Values Questionnaire, a respected framework for measuring what people truly value.
Participants were asked to self-identify their diet — from vegan to omnivore — and then rate how much they related to statements like “He likes to do things his own original way” or “It is important to her to be rich. She wants to have a lot of money.” The results were clear and, in some cases, counterintuitive.
Across the board, vegetarians scored lower than non-vegetarians on values like Security, Tradition, and Conformity. That means they’re less interested in playing it safe and upholding customs. That’s not really surprising. However, what was more surprising, was that vegetarians were more likely to endorse values tied to Stimulation, Achievement, and Power. In other words, vegetarians are more likely to chase challenges, want to succeed, and even seek control or influence.
So, are vegetarians rebels?
To put it simply, yes, vegetarians tend to be more rebellious. But they’re not without a cause. In Western society, meat eating is still the norm. Going vegetarian, therefore, isn’t about chasing kale smoothies or quinoa dishes, it’s a bold choice that goes against the norm. Essentially, it’s a rejection of mainstream culture.
Vegetarians are, essentially, a minority group. And like any minority group that goes against the grain, vegetarians tend to hold values that reflect that choice. They don’t just skip meat. They challenge expectations.
But this is where things get messy.
Previous research — and frankly, popular assumptions — suggested vegetarians are more benevolent and more community-oriented. But this study found the opposite. Across all three surveys, vegetarians rated Benevolence as less important than non-vegetarians did. That doesn’t mean vegetarians are jerks. But it does challenge the idea that they’re simply more caring or altruistic. Instead, their motivations seem to be more focused on success, so they might be highlighting personal growth more than others.
Even environmental concern — often a go-to explanation for ditching meat — wasn’t consistently stronger among vegetarians in Poland. Only the U.S. sample showed a significant bump in environmental values.
So much for the tidy moral narrative
It’s not easy to untangle these results. To get a better view, we need to look at Schwartz’s value theory, a psychological framework that identifies ten universal human values organized by their motivational goals and helps explain how personal values guide behavior. The model sorts human values into ten categories — like Universalism (caring about nature and humanity), Self-direction (independence), and Power (influence and control). These traits aren’t neatly distributed among humans, so researchers look at trends and try to draw a large-scale picture of relationships between these traits.
Judging by the results in this study, vegetarianism shouldn’t be seen as soft or even altruistic. Rather, it’s often a deliberate, self-driven act of defiance. But this is another reason why the study is surprising: it conflicts with gender stereotypes. Research shows women are more likely than men to go vegetarian. And women, according to decades of psychology studies, also tend to score higher on traits like Agreeableness and Conformity. But, vegetarian women don’t fit the “nice girl” mold.
It’s important to mention, however, that not all findings were consistent across borders. In the U.S., vegetarians were more likely to score high on Universalism (concern for others and the environment). In Poland, not so much. This could be explained by cultural differences in vegetarians in different countries. In Poland, where vegetarianism may be even more fringe, going meat-free might require an especially independent mindset. In the U.S., where plant-based diets are a little more mainstream, that self-direction gap could be fading.
These differences raise a big question for future research: are vegetarian values shaped by national culture, or are they universal?
What have we learned here?
Ultimately, this study doesn’t tell us something about vegetarianism. It offers a snapshot of what vegetarians are like, what they value in the aggregate. It doesn’t mean that they’re all the same, or it’s a cultural choice for everyone. There are, undoubtedly, a lot of people who are vegetarian for entirely altruistic reasons.
Why should you care about a psychology study on vegetarians? Because values drive behavior. And dietary choices, once considered private, are increasingly public, political, and polarizing. Why should you care about a psychology study on vegetarians? Because values drive behavior. And dietary choices, once considered private, are increasingly public, political, and polarizing.
Opting for a tofu burger takes guts, and a dash of willingness to stick it to the man. If that’s good for the planet, it’s all the better.
Journal Reference: John B. Nezlek et al, Rethinking vegetarianism: Differences between vegetarians and non-vegetarians in the endorsement of basic human values, PLOS One (2025). DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0323202
