The rise of carnivore diets: Examining meat and masculinity myths

Healthy nutrition diets emphasize plant-based foods such as lentils, beans, nuts, fruits, vegetables, and whole grains. However, there is a growing trend toward meat-heavy diets, like the carnivore diet, which is more widespread among men than women and which may be harmful to those who choose to follow them instead of science-backed diets.

Nutrition Insight explores the sexist and classist myths associated with meat-heavy diets along with their historical roots.

The rise of controversial dietary opinions is evident when examining US Human Services Secretary Robert Kennedy Jr., who supports frying foods in tallow, or animal fat, and promotes the consumption of raw, unpasteurized milk. He also takes a contentious stance against seed oils and lab-grown meat while advocating for the benefits of animal meat. 

Earlier this year, he praised the fast food chain Steak ’n Shake for switching to beef tallow over seed oils. “People who enjoy a burger with fries on a night out aren’t to blame,” he said in an X post.

“I think there is an opportunity to emphasize the necessity of balanced diets, encouraging a diverse range of foods,” Marlana Malerich, Ph.D., chief development officer at Rooted Research Collective, tells Nutrition Insight. “In our study, ‘Nutrition Misinformation in the Digital Age,’ we present several ways to combat nutrition misinformation online.”

She highlights that her report points to a need for early nutrition interventions in education, school curricula, and classes in healthy cooking on a budget. It also recommends that qualified nutrition professionals engage meaningfully on social media.

“In an era of growing distrust in institutions, rebuilding confidence in healthcare systems and the professionals within them is increasingly important,” reads the report. 

“Without decisive action, the current trajectory of nutrition misinformation risks further distorting public understanding of healthy eating, deepening the already serious burden of obesity and other chronic, nutrition-related conditions.”

Making meat masculine

Marketing food and nutrition based on underlying sexist beliefs, targeting certain nutrients toward men and women, such as protein or guilt-free snacks, is evident in industry practices.

Carnivore diets are gaining popularity, especially among men, but are rooted in outdated gender and class stereotypes.“Food marketing has long reinforced gender norms, especially the association of meat with masculinity,” says Malerich. “In the 1950s, Campbell’s soups were branded as ‘he-man’ meals, emphasizing their meat content. Weight Watchers later echoed this trope with campaigns urging men to ‘eat like a man, not like a rabbit,’ promoting meat-centric dishes as the masculine path to weight loss.” 

“There’s also an interesting theme in marketing where meat is presented as a way to ‘re-balance’ the unmanly. McDonald’s once ran a campaign selling bacon and sausage sandwiches as a cure for ‘unmanly’ behaviors, like reading horoscopes. In one Hummer ad, a man buys tofu at the grocery store, then (ashamed) purchases a massive SUV to reassert his manhood and ‘restore the balance.’”

Malerich says that some nutrition fields have echoed these beliefs by validating protein-rich, meat-forward diets as ideal, especially for men. 

“Yet it also has the potential to challenge these binaries by promoting diverse, inclusive understandings of food, health, and identity,” she underscores.

Deep-rooted beliefs lead to carnivore diets

Malerich says that ideas about masculinity have influenced perceptions of meat protein and plant-based eating across cultures. Meat has been linked to masculinity but also social status in patriarchal societies as a symbol of power.

“Historically, meat was a luxury item, consumed primarily by the upper class and, within households, prioritized for men. As Carol Adams writes in The Sexual Politics of Meat, dietary habits reflect both class and patriarchal hierarchies: ‘Women are more likely to eat what are considered second-class foods in patriarchal culture — vegetables, fruits, and grains rather than meat.’”

In 19th-century Britain, Dr. Edward Smith’s national food survey showed women were the worst-fed in the household, surviving on potatoes, while husbands ate meat, highlights Malerich.

“These inequalities were not unique to Britain. Globally, food taboos and cultural norms have often imposed more dietary restrictions on women than men, especially around meat,” explains Malerich, citing Adams.

Historical and colonial narratives have long linked meat to power, masculinity, and status — beliefs that still shape dietary choices today.“Though this may seem like a relic of the past, today’s carnivore diet trend reveals its ongoing influence. While some women promote these diets, our research from our recent study finds that men are more likely to be their vocal champions — 54% of accounts promoting carnivore diets (for which gender could be inferred) belong to men.”

Meat eating in social groups

A new review of meat consumption among various social groups, published in Frontiers in Sociology, adopts a Western and Eurocentric perspective, revealing norms and structural contexts that influence meat and plant food consumption between 2019 and 2024. It notes that social groups and classes display differing food habits and levels of engagement in sustainable nutritional practices.

It reveals: “Groups that should be especially motivated and supported in reducing their meat consumption are males with strong identification with masculinity, individuals with right-wing political attitudes, middle-aged groups, middle and low classes, middle- and low-income groups, lower-educated groups, individuals working as laborers, and sport-oriented groups, as they eat the highest amounts of meat.”

“For several norm- and value-driven groups, such as political groups and male groups with strong masculine gender identities that highly value meat as a status symbol, similar measures might be successful. The values of these groups, such as conservatism and masculinity, are connected and overlapping.”

The author suggests that ecological and ethical reasons might be less appealing. Instead, promoting plant-based meals as desirable, delicious, joyful, and suitable for all social settings may be more effective in encouraging a shift toward healthier plant-based alternatives.

“Information about the health benefits of plant-based food might effectively address groups that are especially interested in health, such as sport-oriented groups that need higher amounts of protein,” writes the author.

Meat and class intersection 

Malerich stresses that meat and power continue to be linked. In her recent literature review on global perceptions of meat and class, she found that this association persisted in countries such as Vietnam, where meat represents financial stability, Switzerland, where sharing meat is regarded as prestigious, and India, where serving meat is considered honorific. 

Experts warn that marketing and misinformation reinforce these myths, undermining science-backed, balanced approaches to nutrition.“Meat is more than food — it’s a cultural touchstone of hierarchy,” she adds.

“As carnivore diet influencer Shawn Baker put it in a New York Times article: ‘Rib-eye steak, even when eaten every day, is viscerally and primitively satisfying to me... I get to eat stuff that only royalty would have eaten through history.’”

“The gendered and class-based symbolism of meat is alive and well, whether consciously or unconsciously, and it continues to inform how we value different diets,” reveals Malerich. 

Colonial influence on meat 

Malerich also reveals connections of meat to colonial views of Indigenous people’s diets, which she connects to misinformed nutrition beliefs held today.

She explains that early Spanish colonization in the Americas caused xenophobic anxiety when the Spanish saw physical differences between Amerindian and Spanish men. The lack of facial hair among Amerindian men was concerning since the Spanish saw beards as a divine symbol of masculinity and virility.

“To prevent this perceived ‘degeneration,’ Spanish colonizers like Spanish priest Gregio García insisted on maintaining a strict Old-World diet. Foods such as lamb, chicken, turkey, beef, wheat bread, and wine were framed as life-sustaining and spiritually superior. In contrast, indigenous foods like cassava, potatoes, and sweet potatoes were dismissed as nutritionally inferior,” says Malerich.

She shares another example from George Beard, a US physician focused on middle-class health, whose writing echoed García on the role of meat for “superior” races. Cereals and fruits were lower on the evolutionary scale, so he believed cultures that consumed more plant foods were lower on the civilization hierarchy.

“To Beard, British colonization could be attributed to intellectually superior meat-eaters conquering inferior plant eaters,” adds Malerich, citing Adams.

“This early colonial mindset helped construct enduring hierarchies of ‘right’ vs ‘wrong’ foods, elevating European diets while devaluing indigenous ones. These legacies still shape contemporary perceptions of health and nutrition today.”