Generation V: Millennial Vegans in Israel
Generation V: Millennial Vegans in Israel
Journal of Contemporary Ethnography, Ahead of Print.
This study asks how and why veganism becomes a way of constructing generational identities and worldviews. Focusing on Israeli millennial vegans, I argue that veganism enables millennials to constitute a generational mode of thought that differentiates them from preceding generations through three interrelated practices: replacing evidence-based knowledge with other types of information, based on personal experience and consensual agreement among peers; constructing an Israeli identity that shifts commitment from national issues to global ones; and establishing spaces of consumption that operate according to marketing strategies meant to socialize practitioners into becoming critical consumers while participating in a young urban lifestyle. All of these position veganism as a means by which millennials exert control where they can, in an increasingly complex world, while refraining from challenging the political and economic systems.
This study asks how and why veganism becomes a way of constructing generational identities and worldviews. Focusing on Israeli millennial vegans, I argue that veganism enables millennials to constitute a generational mode of thought that differentiates them from preceding generations through three interrelated practices: replacing evidence-based knowledge with other types of information, based on personal experience and consensual agreement among peers; constructing an Israeli identity that shifts commitment from national issues to global ones; and establishing spaces of consumption that operate according to marketing strategies meant to socialize practitioners into becoming critical consumers while participating in a young urban lifestyle. All of these position veganism as a means by which millennials exert control where they can, in an increasingly complex world, while refraining from challenging the political and economic systems.