The Pursuit and Maintenance of Sustainable Diets

The proposed fellowship has three main aims: to build my (1) academic profile (50%) and (2) non-academic impact (20%) as well as (3) secure further funding (30%).

1. To build my academic profile, I will engage with the following objectives: (a) research dissemination via academic journals and participation in national and international conferences, (b) develop collaboration with international research teams through two research visits, and (c) extend my portfolio of research by pursuing additional research.

(a) I will submit three manuscripts to high-impact journals to enhance my publication track record. I will participate in national and international conferences, including the Society for Personality and Social Psychology (USA), the Psychology for Human Animal Intergroup Relations Society (PHAIR) meeting (Edinburgh, UK), and the German Psychological Society Congress (Germany).

Conference participation will enable me to disseminate my research, gain feedback from leading experts in Social Psychology, develop new research ideas, strengthen current networks and forge new collaborations.

(b) I will visit Prof. Chris Hopwood at the University of Zurich and Dr. João Graça at the University of Groningen. Both academics are currently engaged in research similar to my own and have been key players in enhancing the impact of work in this space. The aim of these research visits is to develop collaboration and identify ways to integrate these international teams into the funding proposals that I plan to submit.

(c) During the fellowship, I will spend approximately 20% of my time conducting new research. This will build on an ongoing line of inquiry that I am presently pursuing, which concerns the maintenance of sustainable diets. The objective of the proposed research is to assess the probability of former plant-based dietary adherents returning to plant-based eating, by analysing the attitudes, behaviours and identity profiles of former vegans.

Insights from this project will inform key stakeholders (e.g., advocates and policy makers) of the factors that derail once-committed individuals from maintaining plant-forward diets and how these barriers might be overcome in order to renew sustainable eating commitments.

2. To build my non-academic impact, I will engage with the following objectives: (a) research dissemination and (b) collaboration with impact partners.

(a) I will present my research at a number of relevant research seminars and write blog posts for interested groups (e.g., The Vegan Society).

(b) During the PHAIR Society meeting, which brings together social scientists, advocates and non-profit organisations, I will identify impact partners to write a white paper with, on tips for promoting plant-forward eating among individuals and households, for use by the organisation(s).

3. To secure further funding, I will develop a funding application proposing a three-year research programme. This will investigate how cohabiting units (i.e., families and cohabitating couples) work together to coordinate their eating practices, and how these processes are adapted and managed during transition to sustainable diets (i.e., plant-based diets).

This work will build directly upon my PhD research and will be co-developed with Dr. Jared Piazza, Prof. Chris Hopwood and Dr. João Graça. I will submit this grant application to the ESRC New Investigator Grant.