Early Adopters or Forever Resisters? Singapore Veg*ns’ Views Toward Alternative Protein Foods
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.14764/10.ASEAS-0121Keywords:
Alternative Protein Foods, Early Adopters, Future Foods, Singapore, Sustainable DietsAbstract
Alternative protein foods, which provide significant quantities of protein but do not use conventional animal sources, can be an important component of sustainable diets. This paper presents the results of an autoethnographic study by an activist reflecting on their efforts to move people in Singapore closer to animal-free diets, with an emphasis on present and future consumption of alternative protein foods. The findings suggest that the majority of Singapore veg*ns are not early adopters of such foods and may resist consuming them in the future. Reasons for this resistance include the perception that such foods are unnecessary, do not support spiritual needs, are not part of healthy lifestyles, are produced by companies driven by self-interest, and are not seen as a tool for promoting veg*nism. Implications are discussed in light of recent advances in understanding how to effect change.
References
Aavik, K., & Velgan, M. (2021). Vegan men’s food and health practices: A recipe for a more health-conscious masculinity? American Journal of Men's Health, 15(5), https://doi.org/10.1177/15579883211044323
Adams, T. E., Ellis, C., & Jones, S. H. (2017). Autoethnography. In J. Matthes, C. S. Davis, & R. F. Potter (Eds.), The international encyclopedia of communication research methods (pp. 1-11). Wiley.
Ananda Bhavan. (2016, November 9). TimeOut. https://www.timeout.com/singapore/restaurants/anandabhavan
Bentham, J., Singh, G. M., Danaei, G., Green, R., Lin, J. K., Stevens, G. A., Farzadfar, F., Bennett, J.E., Di Cesare, M., Dangour, A.D., & Ezzati, M. (2020). Multidimensional characterization of global food supply from 1961 to 2013. Nature Food, 1(1), 70-75.
Beverland, M. B. (2014). Sustainable eating: Mainstreaming plant-based diets in developed economies. Journal of Macromarketing, 34(3), 369-382.
Bhat, R. (Ed.). (2022). Future foods: Global trends, opportunities, and sustainability challenges. Academic Press.
Bilton, N. (2019, November 6). “He’s f--king destroyed this town”: How Mark Zuckerberg became the most reviled man in tech. Vanity Fair. https://www.vanityfair.com/news/2019/11/how-mark-zuckerbergbecame- the-most-reviled-man-in-tech
Bochner, A. P., & Ellis, C. S. (2006). Communication as autoethnography. In G. J. Shepherd, J. St. John, & T. Striphas (Eds.), Communication as …: Perspectives on theory (pp. 110–122). Sage.
Braunsberger, K., & Flamm, R. O. (2019). The case of the ethical vegan: Motivations matter when researching dietary and lifestyle choices. Journal of Managerial Issues, 31(3), 228-245.
Canseco-Lopez, F., & Miralles, F. (2023). Adoption of plant-based diets: A process perspective on adopters’ cognitive propensity. Sustainability, 15(9), 7577. https://doi.org/10.3390/su15097577
Cardoso, B. D., Castanheira, E. M., Lanceros‐Méndez, S., & Cardoso, V. F. (2023). Recent advances on cell culture platforms for in vitro drug screening and cell therapies: From conventional to microfluidic strategies. Advanced Healthcare Materials, 12(18), 2202936. https://doi.org/10.1002/adhm.202202936
Catalini, C., & Tucker, C. (2017). When early adopters don’t adopt. Science, 357(6347), 135-136.
Chai, B. C., Van Der Voort, J. R., Grofelnik, K., Eliasdottir, H. G., Klöss, I., & Perez-Cueto, F. J. (2019). Which diet has the least environmental impact on our planet? A systematic review of vegan, vegetarian and omnivorous diets. Sustainability, 11(15), 4110. https://doi.org/10.3390/su11154110
Chapman, J. (2023). Processing the discourse over plant-based meat. The Churchill Fellowship. https://media.churchillfellowship.org/documents/JChapman_-_Processing_the_discourse.pdf
Chen, Z., Glisic, M., Song, M., Aliahmad, H. A., Zhang, X., Moumdjian, A. C., Gonzales-Jaramillo, V., van der Schaft, N., Bramer, W.M., Ikram, M.A., & Voortman, T. (2020). Dietary protein intake and all-cause and cause-specific mortality: Results from the Rotterdam Study and a meta-analysis of prospective cohort studies. European Journal of Epidemiology, 35(5), 411-429.
Cohen, E. (2012). Flooded: An auto-ethnography of the 2011 Bangkok flood. ASEAS-Austrian Journal of South-East Asian Studies, 5(2), 316-334.
Costa, A. L., & Kallick, B. (1993). Through the lens of a critical friend. Educational Leadership, 51, 49-51.
Cramer, H., Kessler, C. S., Sundberg, T., Leach, M. J., Schumann, D., Adams, J., & Lauche, R. (2017). Characteristics of Americans choosing vegetarian and vegan diets for health reasons. Journal of Nutrition Education and Behavior, 49(7), 561-567.
Danaher, J. (2022). Techno-optimism: An analysis, an evaluation and a modest defence. Philosophy & Technology, 35(2), 54. https://doi.org/10.1007/s13347-022-00550-2
Ellis, J. (2021, December 20). Brief: ADM, Tyson back cultivated meat company Future Meat in recordbreaking $347m round. AgFunder News. https://agfundernews.com/future-meat-nets-347m-fromadm-tyson-in-largest-cultivated-meat-round
Feng, J. Y., Wang, R., Thakur, K., Ni, Z. J., Zhu, Y. Y., Hu, F., Zhang, J. G., & Wei, Z. J. (2021). Evolution of okara from waste to value added food ingredient: An account of its bio-valorization for improved nutritional and functional effects. Trends in Food Science & Technology, 116, 669-680.
Flaibam, B., da Silva, M. F., de Mélo, A. H. F., Carvalho, P. H., Galland, F., Pacheco, M. T. B., & Goldbeck, R. (2024). Non-animal protein hydrolysates from agro-industrial wastes: A prospect of alternative inputs for cultured meat. Food Chemistry, 443, 138515. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.foodchem.2024.138515
Ford, H., Gould, J., Danner, L., Bastian, S. E., & Yang, Q. (2023). “I guess it’s quite trendy”: A qualitative insight into young meat-eaters’ sustainable food consumption habits and perceptions towards current and future protein alternatives. Appetite, 190, 107025. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.appet.2023.107025
Fox, N., & Ward, K. (2008). Health, ethics and environment: A qualitative study of vegetarian motivations. Appetite, 50(2-3), 422-429.
Guo, D., Zhang, L., Wang, X., Zheng, J., & Lin, S. (2022). Establishment methods and research progress of livestock and poultry immortalized cell lines: A review. Frontiers in Veterinary Science, 9. https://doi. org/10.3389/fvets.2022.956357
Greger, M. (2018). Benefits of lentils and chickpeas. https://nutritionfacts.org/video/benefits-of-lentils-andchickpeas
Henderson, S. (2023). How successful startups find their early adopters (and how you can too). https://www.antler.co/academy/early-adopters
Huang, J., Liao, L. M., Weinstein, S. J., Sinha, R., Graubard, B. I., & Albanes, D. (2020). Association between plant and animal protein intake and overall and cause-specific mortality. JAMA Internal Medicine, 180(9),1173-1184.
Katz, D. L., Doughty, K. N., Geagan, K., Jenkins, D. A., & Gardner, C. D. (2019). Perspective: The public health case for modernizing the definition of protein quality. Advances in Nutrition, 10(5), 755-764.
Knight, A. (2023). The relative benefits for environmental sustainability of vegan diets for dogs, cats and people. Plos one, 18(10), e0291791. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0291791
Lapadat, J. C., Black, N. E., Clark, P. G., Gremm, R. M., Karanja, L. W., Mieke, L. W., & Quinlan, L. (2010). Life challenge memory work: Using collaborative autobiography to understand ourselves. International Journal of Qualitative Methods, 9(1), 77-104.
Lok, C. (2024, April 21). Sprouting food option for vegans. The Straits Times. https://www.straitstimes.com/life/vegan-dishes-continue-to-sprout-in-singapore
Malila, Y., Owolabi, I. O., Chotanaphuti, T., Sakdibhornssup, N., Elliott, C. T., Visessanguan, W., Karoonuthaisiri, N., & Petchkongkaew, A. (2024). Current challenges of alternative proteins as future foods. npj Science of Food, 8(1), 53. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41538-024-00291-w
Mridul, A. (2024, January 29). Not all UPFs are equal: Green Queen unveils FAQ Guide for plant-based meat & ultra-processed foods. Green Queen. https://www.greenqueen.com.hk/ultra-processed-foods-list-plantbased-meat-guide/
Nestlé. (2023). Plant-based portfolio. https://www.nestle.com/brands/plant-based-portfolio
Ostfeld, R. J. (2017). Definition of a plant-based diet and overview of this special issue. Journal of Geriatric Cardiology, 14(5), 315. https://doi.org/10.11909/j.issn.1671-5411.2017.05.008
Ozbun, T. (2024). Italian cuisine worldwide - Statistics & facts. https://www.statista.com/topics/12802/italian-cuisine-worldwide/#topicOverview
Plant-based meat has thrived. (2021, February 16). Plant-based meat has thrived in Asia for centuries—and it’s still going strong. Food & Wine. https://www.yahoo.com/lifestyle/plant-based-meat-thrivedasia-222803091.html
Prisco, A. (2022). The rise of concentrated animal feeding operations, their effects, and how we can stoptheir growth. Dickinson Law Review, 126(3). https://ideas.dickinsonlaw.psu.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1155&context=dlr
Rostami, A., Trupp, A., & Stephenson, M. L. (2024). Female solo travel experiences: An autoethnography on social and emotional challenges with tourism industry stakeholders. Advances in Southeast Asian Studies, 17(2), 201-212.
Sexton, A. E., Garnett, T., & Lorimer, J. (2019). Framing the future of food: The contested promises of alternative proteins. Environment and Planning E: Nature and Space, 2(1), 47-72.
Singapore Department of Statistics. (2024). Population and population structure. https://www.singstat.gov.sg/find-data/search-by-theme/population/population-and-population-structure/latest-data
Son, J. Y., & Bell, M. L. (2024). Concentrated animal feeding operations (CAFOs) in relation to environmental justice related variables in Wisconsin, United States. Journal of Exposure Science & Environmental Epidemiology, 34, 416–423.
Sozzi, B. (2021, February 11). CEO of Burger King owner: ‘We are all in’ on plant-based foods. Yahoo Finance. https://finance.yahoo.com/news/ceo-of-burger-king-owner-we-are-all-in-on-plantbasedfoods-181019701.html
Statista. (n.d.). Resident population in Singapore as of June 2023, by ethnic group. https://www.statista.com/statistics/622748/singapore-resident-population-by-ethnic-group
Tan, K. (2022). How Chinese Buddhist women shaped the food landscape in Singapore. https://biblioasia.nlb.gov.sg/vol-18/issue-2/jul-sep-2022/buddhist-women-vegetarian-food-singapore/
Vaughn, R. (2022). Queer, toxic soybeans and estrogen panic: Gendered food fearmongering. Media+Environment, 4(2). https://doi.org/10.1525/001c.37271
Vegetarian Resource Group. (2022). How many people are vegetarian or vegan. https://www.vrg.org/nutshell/faq.htm#poll
Victoria State Government. (2023). Vegetarian and vegan eating. https://www.betterhealth.vic.gov.au/health/healthyliving/vegetarian-and-vegan-eating
World Population Review. (2024). Vegetarianism by country. https://worldpopulationreview.com/countryrankings/vegetarianism-by-country
Yang, M., Wang, Q., Zhu, Y., Sheng, K., Xiang, N., & Zhang, X. (2023). Cell culture medium cycling in cultured meat: Key factors and potential strategies. Trends in Food Science & Technology, 138, 564–576.
Downloads
Published
Issue
Section
License
Copyright (c) 2025 George Jacobs, Meng Huat Chau
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.
For all articles published in ASEAS before December 2014 and after July 2022, copyright is retained by the authors. For articles published between January 2015 and June 2022, the Society for South-East Asian Studies (SEAS) is the copyright holder. Articles published in ASEAS before December 2019 are licensed under the following Creative Commons License: Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported. Articles published after that date are licensed under the following Creative Commons License: Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 4.0 International. In both cases, this means that everybody is free to share (to copy, to distribute, and to transmit the work) under the following conditions:
-
Attribution — You must give appropriate credit, provide a link to the license, and indicate if changes were made. You may do so in any reasonable manner, but not in any way that suggests the licensor endorses you or your use.
-
NonCommercial — You may not use the material for commercial purposes.
-
NoDerivatives — If you remix, transform, or build upon the material, you may not distribute the modified material.
