Men eat meat to feel MANLY: Blokes resist going vegan because they fear it makes them seems too feminine, study finds

When you tuck into a tender rack of ribs, do you feel a connection to your caveman ancestors who used their brawn to hunt down their next meal?

A new study has revealed that men like meat because it makes them feel manly. 

Researchers from the University of Bath surveyed more than 1,000 British men on why they enjoy munching on burgers, steaks, and kebabs.  

The results uncovered a link between higher levels of meat consumption and a notion that meat is masculine. 

'There are lots of good reasons not to eat meat or dairy products,' said study author Dr Annayah Prosser in an article for The Conversation.

'It might be for your health or for the sake of the environment. 

'Or you might have moral concerns about consuming animals.

'Yet many of us continue to eat meat, especially men, who eat more of it than women, and are less likely to opt for a vegetarian or vegan diet.'

In their study, the team set out to investigate the potential link between meat consumption and perceptions of masculinity.

'Does the mindset of the prehistoric caveman hunter live on in today's restaurants and weekend barbecues?' Dr Prosser asked. 

Their survey of 1,072 men showed that those who conformed to more traditional masculine norms ate more red meat and poultry – and were less keen to part from the meat and dairy in their diet. 

To understand why this is the case, the researchers followed up with online discussions with men who had meat–heavy diets. 

'More often than not, men were reluctant to talk about the role of gender in meat consumption, or completely rejected the notion that there was any link,' Dr Prosser explained. 

However, other men admitted the link between meat and masculinity was explicit.

For example, one participant in his 40s said he feels obliged to always choose a meat dish when dining with other men. 

'Maybe I feel a slight obligation to go down [the meat] route sort of subconsciously,' he told the researchers. 

'I've probably felt I need to have a steak here or need to have something that [perhaps] shows my masculinity.

'I feel sort of safer behind choosing something like that rather than, say, a pasta or a salad–based dish.'

The researchers also found that meat–loving men often see plant–based meat and dairy alternatives as 'unnatural'. 

'Chicken will just say "chicken" on the back, whereas a plant–based [alternative to chicken] would have something like glycolic acid or something. I have no idea what that is,' one participant said. 

As for what it would take for these meat–lovers to ditch meat entirely, answers ranged from advice from a doctor based on health issues to an entirely new friend group. 

'I would have to change my friends [if I stopped eating meat],' one man said. 

'Basically, I have friends who are gym rats, who love to go to the gym together, who love to do strength training. So I would have to change my friends to people who are probably agriculturists – and have more interest in plants.'

Overall, the findings suggest that many men resist going vegan because they fear it seems too feminine, according to the researchers.

'Traditional masculine norms may act as barriers to adopting plant–based diets among men, particularly those who strongly agree with these norms,' the researchers concluded in their study, published in the Journal of Environmental Psychology.