ABSTRACT
This selection explains that vegetarianism in industrialized societies is a way of life that for many practitioners connects directly to personal identity as well as social, moral, and political expression. Some studies have shown that vegetarians tend to report greater health and happiness on choosing vegetarianism as a way of life. In contrast, this selection points out that other research has found that vegetarian women tend to be very weight conscious and to show psychological and interpersonal symptoms of eating disorders such as anorexia nervosa. This connection is largely borne out in the first of two studies comparing omnivores to vegetarians and semivegetarians reported in the selection.
