Research Vision:
To undertake quality research that provides a sound evidence base to the Society’s procedures, policies and campaigns. To provide vegans with the knowledge they require to enable them to achieve the same overall wellbeing as everyone else in society.
Research Purpose:
We have established three Research Portfolios:
- Health & Wellbeing – To develop and promote knowledge, practice, and policies concerning vegan health including vegan diets and nutrition, catering, and an awareness of the reciprocal relationship between physical, emotional, social, and spiritual health and wellbeing.
- Society, Culture & Animal Ethics - To develop and promote knowledge, practice, and policies concerning animal ethics and vegan based beliefs, identities, cultures, and lifestyles at both micro (individual) and macro (societal) level.
- Environment & Sustainability – To develop and promote knowledge, practice, and policies concerning plant-based, sustainable agriculture and food security.
Strategic and interdisciplinary approach
All of the research that we conduct, fund, or collaborate in is linked to at least one of the above portfolios and our overall organisational strategy. This enables us to plan, develop, and manage individual projects and ensure that all our research activities are accountable, transparent, and linked to our campaign activities and the long-term strategic goals of The Vegan Society.
We adopt an interdisciplinary approach to research, recognising the value of discourses, theoretical standpoints, and methodological approaches from various disciplines. We conduct qualitative, quantitative and mixed-methods research as well as gathering evidence from secondary sources.
About us
The Research team sits within the Campaigns, Policy & Research team here at The Vegan Society and is led by Research & Impact Manager, Dr Lorna Fenwick McLaren. Alongside Lorna, Research Assistant Alex Huntley co-ordinates our RAC and Researcher Network. We are fortunate enough to work with our valued Research Advisory Committee on all our research projects, which is chaired by Dr Richard Twine. Find out more about the people involved in our RAC. Find out more about and how to sign up to our newest research initiative the Researcher Network.
Highlights
- We partnered with the Office of Health Economics and initiated a study on the impact of higher uptake of plant-based diets in England. The research estimates that the NHS could save a staggering £6.7 billion over a year if everyone adopted a vegan diet.
- Take a look at The Vegan Society's empathy index, which measures current levels of empathy towards non-human animals across a range of 27 forms of animal use.