Big Data Analysis in Social Networks : Extracting Food Preferences of Vegans from Twitter

Market research is often conducted through conventional methods such as surveys, focus groups and interviews. But the drawbacks of these methods are that they can be costly and timeconsuming. This study develops a new method, based on a combination of standard techniques like sentiment analysis and normalisation, to conduct market research in a manner that is free and quick. The method can be used in many application-areas, but this study focuses mainly on the veganism market to identify vegan food preferences in the form of a profile. Several food words are identified, along with their distribution between positive and negative sentiments in the profile. Surprisingly, non-vegan foods such as cheese, cake, milk, pizza and chicken dominate the profile, indicating that there is a significant market for vegan-suitable alternatives for such foods. Meanwhile, vegan-suitable foods such as coconut, potato, blueberries, kale and tofu also make strong appearances in the profile. Validation is performed by using the method on Volkswagen vehicle data to identify positive and negative sentiment across five car models. Some results were found to be consistent with sales figures and expert reviews, while others were inconsistent. The reliability of the method is therefore questionable, so the results should be used with caution.

Dieta vegetariana e níveis de colesterol e triglicérides

OBJETIVO: Comparar os valores de triglicérides (TG), colesterol total (CT), lipoproteína de baixa densidade (LDL) e lipoproteína de alta densidade (HDL) entre indivíduos vegetarianos e onívoros. MÉTODOS: Foram coletadas amostras sangüíneas de 76 indivíduos, de ambos os sexos, que foram separados em quatro grupos de dieta: onívoro, ovolacto, lacto e vegetariano restrito (ou "vegan"). Foram dosados: CT, LDL, HDL e TG. RESULTADOS: Para as taxas de CT, LDL e TG, observa-se diferença significante entre as amostras, sendo o maior valor nos onívoros, havendo decréscimo nos vegetarianos, de acordo com o grau de restrição de produtos de origem animal, sendo a menor taxa observada nos "vegans". A média e o desvio padrão do CT foram de 208,09 ± 49,09 mg/dl no grupo de onívoros, e 141,06 ± 30,56 mg/dl no de vegan (p < 0,001). Os valores de LDL foram, para onívoros e "vegans", respectivamente, 123,43 ± 42,67 mg/dl e 69,28 ± 29,53 mg/dl (p < 0,001). Para o TG, esses valores foram 155,68 ± 119,84 mg/dl e 81,67 ± 81,90 mg/dl (p < 0,01). Com relação à taxa de HDL, não houve diferença entre as amostras, mas a proporção HDL/CT foi significantemente maior nos "vegans" (p = 0,01). CONCLUSÃO: A dieta vegetariana associou-se a menores valores de TG, CT e LDL em comparação com a dieta onívora.

Consumption of welfare-friendly food products in Great Britain, Italy and Sweden, and how it may be influenced by consumer attitudes to, and behaviour towards, animal welfare attributes

The interest in animal welfare and welfare-friendly food products has been increasing in Europe over the last 10 years. The media, highlighting traditional farming methods and food scares such as those related to salmonella, bovine spongiform encephalopathy/variant Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease (BSE) and avian influenza, have brought the methods of animal farming to public attention. Concerns about farm animal welfare are reflected in the increase in the number of vegetarians and vegans and an increase in consumers wishing to purchase food which is more animal welfare-friendly. This paper considers consumers’ attitudes to animal welfare and to marketing practices, such as product labelling, welfare grading systems and food assurance marks using comparative data collected in a survey of around 1500 consumers in each of Great Britain, Italy and Sweden as part of the EU-funded Welfare Quality research project. The findings suggest a need for the provision of improved consumer information on the welfare provenance of food using appropriate product labelling and other methods.

Analytical and compositional aspects of isoflavones in food and their biological effects

This paper provides an overview of analytical techniques used to determine isoflavones (IFs) in foods and biological fluids with main emphasis on sample preparation methods. Factors influencing the content of IFs in food including processing and natural variability are summarized and an insight into IF databases is given. Comparisons of dietary intake of IFs in Asian and Western populations, in special subgroups like vegetarians, vegans, and infants are made and our knowledge on their absorption, distribution, metabolism, and excretion by the human body is presented. The influences of the gut microflora, age, gender, background diet, food matrix, and the chemical nature of the IFs on the metabolism of IFs are described. Potential mechanisms by which IFs may exert their actions are reviewed, and genetic polymorphism as determinants of biological response to soy IFs is discussed. The effects of IFs on a range of health outcomes including atherosclerosis, breast, intestinal, and prostate cancers, menopausal symptoms, bone health, and cognition are reviewed on the basis of the available in vitro, in vivo animal and human data.

Influence of habitual diet on antioxidant status: a study in a population of vegetarians and omnivores

Background: Antioxidant status can be used as a biomarker to assess chronic disease risk and diet can modulate antioxidant defence. Objective: To examine effects of vegetarian diet and variations in the habitual intakes of foods and nutrients on blood antioxidants. Subjects and Setting: Thirty-one vegetarians (including six vegans) and 58 omnivores, non-smokers, in Northern Ireland. Design: A diet history method was used to assess habitual diet. Antioxidant vitamins, carotenoids, uric acid, zinc-and ferric-reducing ability of plasma (FRAP) were measured in fasting plasma and activities of glutathione peroxidase (GPX), superoxide dismutase ( SOD) and glutathione S-transferase (GST) and level of reduced glutathione (GSH) were measured in erythrocytes. Results: Vegetarians had approximately 15% higher levels of plasma carotenoids compared with omnivores, including lutein (P <= 0.05), a-cryptoxanthin (P <= 0.05), lycopene (NS), alpha-carotene (NS) and beta-carotene (NS). The levels/activities of all other antioxidants measured were similar between vegetarians and omnivores. Total intake of fruits, vegetables and fruit juices was positively associated with plasma levels of several carotenoids and vitamin C. Intake of vegetables was positively associated with plasma lutein, alpha-cryptoxanthin, alpha-carotene and beta-carotene, whereas intake of fruits was positively associated with plasma beta-cryptoxanthin. Intake of tea and wine was positively associated with FRAP value, whereas intake of herbal tea associated positively with plasma vitamin C. Intakes of meat and fish were positively associated with plasma uric acid and FRAP value. Conclusions: The overall antioxidant status was similar between vegetarians and omnivores. Good correlations were found between intakes of carotenoids and their respective status in blood.

Ativismo Vegano em Natal: uma etnografia de mobilização política, alimentação ética e identidades

This research has vegan groups in the city of Natal-RN as interlocutors, although I also report to other research contexts, such as those located in the cities of Recife (Pernambuco State) and Campina Grande (Paraíba State). Moved by ethical principles based on animal rights, vegans refuse to consume any product with animal origin. To the extent that consumption habits can be considered powerful elements of identification, the relationship between consumption, food, identity, and politics is an important analytical key in the development of this work. As my main theoretical question, I follow the ways by which the vegan discourse (of abolitionist character) takes shape and materializes into actions, demonstrations and political mobilization. Therefore, I aim to present an ethnography of activities performed collectively by these individuals, such as those of a more ludic character (picnics, etc.) as well as those more politically oriented, especially protests and demonstrations in public places.

Vegan NOW members at NOW conference, Houston

General note: Title and date provided by Bettye Lane.

A vegan woman protesting

General note: Title and date provided by Bettye Lane.