Graduation Year

2026

Document Type

Campus Only Senior Thesis

Degree Name

Bachelor of Arts

Department

Environmental Analysis

Reader 1

Joanna Dyl

Reader 2

Adam Davis

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Terms of Use for work posted in Scholarship@Claremont.

Rights Information

Isara S Greacen

Abstract

This thesis examines why meat-heavy diets such as keto and carnivore have surged in popularity despite mounting scientific evidence of their negative health and climate impacts. Drawing on advertising archives, social media analysis, an original survey of Claremont Colleges students, and interviews with four young men across dietary identities, the project argues that the contemporary appeal of meat is inseparable from a perceived crisis in masculinity. As economic and social changes, from shifting labor markets to evolving gender and health norms, destabilize long-standing ideals of male authority, meat is rebranded, through marketing, influencer ecosystems, and federal policy, as a symbol of strength, discipline, autonomy, and resistance. Survey results show that students overwhelmingly view meat as masculine and plant-based eating as feminized, with men reporting both higher meat consumption and greater reluctance to reduce it. Interviews reveal how cultural scripts about protein, performance, and “real” food become personally meaningful, shaping dietary choices through gendered expectations and social pressure. Taken together, these findings suggest that masculinity functions as a structural barrier to sustainable dietary change. Addressing the climate crisis therefore requires not only technological or policy shifts, but cultural transformations in how strength, care, and ethical eating are imagined, particularly for men.

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This thesis is restricted to the Claremont Colleges current faculty, students, and staff.

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