All over the Internet, there seems to be a lot of sources that suggest that men tend to be meat-eaters, while women tend to be vegetarians or vegans. When I asked a question on this website, I noticed that girls are 50/50 on the veganism issue, but guys tend to be anti-vegan. On YouTube videos, some YouTube presenters assume that women do the majority of the meal prepping and cooking and imply that their husbands may prefer to eat meat, while the target audience (women) prefer to eat sushi or vegetarian food.
I think the behavioral trend in men and women is an interesting topic that I wish to explore speculatively. Why do men prefer to eat meat and women prefer to eat vegan or vegetarian food?
1. Bodybuilding
In order to build muscle, it is believed that one must eat more calories than one needs per day. The calorie surplus is intended to help build muscle. That means eating a diet that is high in protein and fat and low in carbohydrates. Now, where the hell are you going to get so many protein-rich and fat-rich foods? Sure, you can eat tofu, right?
A 2016 study finds that stir-fried tempeh can increase the fat composition. Although the study views the increased fat composition negatively, I believe a greater fat composition and higher caloric intake may be a good way to eat enough calories for healthy living. Apparently, tofu is not just rich in protein, but also rich in fat.
Setiawan, Budhi, et al. "The Influence Of Traditional Stir-Frying With Oil On Acceptability, Antioxidant Activities, Nutrients, And The Phytic Acid Content Of Fermented Soybean (Tempeh)." Nutrition & Food Science 46.2 (2016): 259-271. Academic Search Premier. Web. 22 Sept. 2016.
On the other hand, eating too many soy products is not really a healthy choice, as an overloading of soy products does carry certain health risks, like the physical feminization of men. Having manboobs is not desirable in heterosexual men. Okay, so where can we find protein-rich and fat-rich foods? How about protein bars? Nah, those are processed foods, which may have weird artificial ingredients.
Next! Legumes (other than soybeans) tend to be very rich in protein and fat. But the major problem is, they are more inefficient in delivering calories due to the plant fiber than animal meat.
As you can see, in order to be resourceful with one's money, it's actually very economical to eat meat for bodybuilders. Men tend to aspire bodybuilding more often than women and naturally require more calories than women. Eating animal products (such as eggs) just helps men stay in budget and serve the purpose of muscle-building more easily. The only problem with eating meat is that meat usually comes from birds, pigs, cattle, and fish, and the overproduction of these types of meat is damaging to the environment.
I think it'd be a great idea, if society would move toward a more sustainable form of meat. Instead of eating large vertebrates, people may choose to eat invertebrates, like worms and spiders. One worm may deliver 70 Kcal. I think that is a raw worm. Maybe a cooked worm would be more absorbable than a raw worm. Worms are already pet food and human food. Earthworms can make organic compost, which is great for people's gardens! They reproduce very quickly and are hermaphroditic, so you'll always have a constant supply of worm meat. If people were to switch to a more sustainable form of meat, then bodybuilders can still consume meat as an easy protein source.
2. Skinny, Attractive Girls
Unlike men, women are extremely conscious about their weight. Much of that pressure on weight comes from society's ideal female body, which may be altered or enhanced with some digital manipulation. So, many American women strive for that skinny, attractive girl look . . . even at the cost of ignoring strength-training. (I can understand why a person doesn't go to the gym to lift weights, if s/he doesn't have a steady income, but not doing any resistence-training outside the gym, like riding on a real bike up the slope, seems irrational.)
Personally, I believe losing weight without ever considering resistence-training is unhealthy. But sadly, there aren't many positive athletic or bodybuilder female role models. Instead, there are too many anorexic girls with self-esteem issues who are too concerned about losing fat as quickly as possible.
Given that whole fruits and vegetables tend to be relatively low in calories and that meat tends to be high in calories, I can certainly understand why more women prefer veganism than men. Eating at a constant calorie deficit is just what women need to lose the fat and look attractive. The only problem is, not building muscle is troublesome as they age.
3. Political Differences
Men tend to be politically conservative; women tend to be politically liberal. Environmentalism is usually treated in the United States as a liberal issue, but I have seen environmentalism as a bipartisan issue. So, more women than men tend to be surrounded by liberal folks, support the liberal agenda of environmentalism, and become vegans. Men tend to be conservatives, and conservatives want to keep the status quo as much as possible. If that means eating meat from birds, pigs, cattle, and fish, then so be it. I think the political leanings between men and women are important factors as to why women tend to be vegan and men tend to be meat-eaters.
4. Health Consciousness
Men tend to be medical doctors more often than women. Women tend to go into allied med professions. Medical dietetics and human nutrition fit under allied med, so you see a lot of female nutritionists and dieticians. It's a female-dominated field. Many female nutritionists and dieticians follow the USDA-approved MyPlate guideline, which emphasizes a plant-based diet. According to MyPlate, 75% of the plate is plant-based. More is possible, if the protein and dairy products are derived from some kind of plant source and fortified with vitamin B12.
Physicians, on the other hand, may or may not be educated in human nutrition. I am not surprised that the Atkins diet and the Paleo diet are developed by male doctors; they also happen to emphasize heavy meat consumption.
5. Culture
The above points make assumptions about the behavior of Americans. Certainly, people in other countries, especially the poor, would not eat muscle meat in such great quantities or associate meat with masculinity. (Likewise in America, just about over a century or two centuries ago, meat was derived from hunting. So, meat consumption in America was low as well.) If they do eat meat, then they'd be lucky to get the cheaper, less desirable kinds -- the organ meats. As a result of constantly eating plant-based meals, the people may be so habituated to eating a plant-based diet that men and women would just eat anything available to make sure they won't starve.
Meanwhile, Americans are fortunate enough to have muscle meat from the traditional farm animals (poultry, pork, beef, veal, fish and seafood) around the clock. It's just a matter of walking into a grocery store and finding it. Having difficulty in finding meat in a grocery store may be a "first-world problem".
I speculate that men tend to be big meat consumers, because of the reasons above.
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