Or less judgementally, people think they dislike vegetarian/vegan options more than they actually do.
The study didn’t survey how much the participants ended up liking the food they chose.
> people think they dislike vegetarian/vegan options more than they actually do.
No.
People avoid it just because of the name.
So, yes.
People avoid it because it is made of crap, tastes like crap and has a texture of crap.
Oreos are vegan, and are the best selling cookies in the US. Thin Mints are vegan too, and as I understand it, they're pretty popular. Graham crackers are often vegan, and those are the base for basically every homemade cheesecake. Obviously the rest of the cheesecake isn't likely to be vegan, but it seems the crackers aren't enough to ruin it with their crappy taste or texture.
Since the vegetarians and vegans can still figure out the meat options contain meat I think it's more of a do not emphasize rather than withhold the information.
The reason those labels are there is to facilitate us being able to find what we can eat. I don't want to look over 30 menu items before I can find the 3 things I can eat. Same reason they mark "gluten free", "nut free", "low carb", etc.
Plus there are plenty of things that contain meat products without it being obvious, rennet in pesto for example.
Yes, I have on occasion accidentally received meat in a dish that wasn't explicitly listed. Sometimes it's a result of me not being familiar enough with the food and sometimes they just don't bother to mention e.g. the salad comes with chicken on top.
Many years ago I was surprised at “vegetarian” refried beans sitting beside “traditional” on the grocery. Turns out, traditionally, they contain pork fat. Not immediately obvious unless you’re raised making them yourself.
But then it gets into the ridiculous where white sugar is used. It's white by filtering it with bone char. At that point it's a religion more than a diet.
It definitely sounds more like "doing what the diet is" than a religion to me.
Me neither but if no labels means more consumption and more options, might be worth it.
The menu descriptions in the study were quite thorough/complete. No trickery involved.