Animals, Diet and Social Hierarchy
This topic brings together work on diet, animals and inequality within environmental sociology, political sociology and vegan sociology.
Published work examines meat consumption and reduction in Slovenia, sustainable dietary patterns, climate literacy, health literacy and fruit and vegetable intake. Newer manuscript and conference work extends this line of research to speciesism, social dominance, sexism, anti-vegan attitudes, and the political shaping of everyday consumption.
Together, this work examines how social position, political ideology, environmental attitudes and hierarchy beliefs shape diet, animal-related attitudes, and responses to vegetarian and vegan minorities.
Selected Work
Publications, manuscripts and presentation
Branilović, S., & Kirbiš, A. (2026). Political ideology and meat consumption: Environmental attitudes and the structural importance of livestock production. Manuscript in review.
Focus: Political ideology, environmental attitudes, meat consumption, nativism, livestock production and cross-national research.
Kirbiš, A. (2026). More than a preference for hierarchy: Speciesism uniquely predicts attitudes toward vegetarians and vegans. Manuscript in review.
Focus: Speciesism, social dominance, sexism, attitudes toward vegetarians and vegans, and anti-animal and anti-human prejudice.
Kirbiš, A. (2026). Interlocking oppressions: How speciesism, sexism and social dominance travel together in a Central European sample. Paper presented at Internationalising Vegan Sociology, International Association of Vegan Sociologists, online, 3-4 October 2026.
Focus: Speciesism, sexism, social dominance, vegan sociology, anti-vegan attitudes and Central European evidence.
Kirbiš, A., & Branilović, S. (2025). Education and meat consumption and reduction: The mediating role of climate literacy. Foods, 14(19), 3333.
Key finding: Among Slovenians aged 14-88 (N=2,990), climate attitudes and literacy mediated the association between higher education and both lower meat consumption and greater willingness to reduce meat.
doi.org/10.3390/foods14193333Kirbiš, A., Korže, V., & Lubej, M. (2024). Predictors of meat reduction: The case of Slovenia. Foods, 13(15), 2346.
Key finding: In a Slovenian survey, age was the only significant predictor of meat-reduction intentions and behaviour, with middle-aged and older adults more likely to reduce meat than younger adults.
doi.org/10.3390/foods13152346Kirbiš, A., Lamot, M., & Javornik, M. (2021). The role of education in sustainable dietary patterns in Slovenia. Sustainability, 13(23), 13036.
Key finding: In a national Slovenian sample (N=1,079), higher education independently predicted lower meat consumption, revealing an educational gradient in sustainable diet.
doi.org/10.3390/su132313036Kirbiš, A., Branilović, S., & Lubej, M. (2025). Does health literacy mediate sociodemographic and economic inequalities in fruit and vegetable intake? An analysis of Slovenian national HLS19 survey data. Foods, 14(3), 378.
Key finding: Using Slovenian HLS19 data (N=3,360), health literacy partially mediated socioeconomic inequalities in fruit and vegetable intake.
doi.org/10.3390/foods14030378