It may well be National Vegetarian Week but marketers keen to encourage more men to follow a plant-based diet would do well to consider the many, surprising things men would give up before ‘going veggie’
A staggering 88% of men believe it would be a challenge to become a vegetarian, according to the study of 1,000 men from meat brand Peperami, with the majority of men admitting they would rather stop drinking alcohol, cancel their Sky Sports subscription and even give up sex.
Researchers found 62% of men would never even consider giving up meat, and many said they would prefer to give up chocolate, the internet or coffee before saying goodbye to their meat-filled diet.
Rather than embrace vegetarianism, men would also prefer to stop going to the pub, have their mother-in-law move in with them and close down all their social media accounts.
It also emerged from the study that seven in 10 men have some form of meat with almost every single meal they eat. As such, 81% believe they would be ‘lost’ without meat in their diet.
“Meat is an important part of most people’s diet and it seems that there are a lot of things men would rather give up ahead of the food,” explained a spokesman for Peperami, which commissioned the research.
“These results show that men would prefer to kiss goodbye to their mobile phones, sex and their partners before becoming a vegetarian.
“…it’s evident that red-blooded males who love meat still exist, and they won’t be giving up meat anytime soon.”
The study found nearly seven in 10 men feel that meat is a must at every meal time, and more than a third would be happier to delete their Facebook profile than give up their meaty foods and snacks.
Never watching TV again, swimming with sharks and giving up their mobile phone are also more preferable for men.
Other things to feature on the list also include doing a naked streak through town, selling their car and giving up the internet.
It’s also bad news for loved ones as some men even claimed they would rather break-up with their wife or girlfriend, or even stop seeing their best friend or family before even considering to ditch meat from their diet.
25 things men would rather do than become vegetarian
Delete their Facebook profile
Give up chocolate
Shave their head
Give up social media
Give up cigarettes
Give up alcohol
Get a wax
Go skinny-dipping
Give up tea or coffee
Stop going to the pub
Give up their Sky Sports subscription
Move out of the UK
Audition for The X-Factor
Give up their mobile phone
Give up television
Swim with sharks
Give up sex
Streak through town
Have their mother-in-law move in
Quit their job
Sell their car
Give up the internet
Break-up with their partner
Stop seeing their best friend
Stop seeing family
