Appetite 157 (2021) 105003 Available online 20 October 2020 0195-6663/© 2020 The Author(s). Published by Elsevier Ltd. This is an open access article under the CC BY license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). Young adults’ transition to a plant-based diet as a psychosomatic process: A psychoanalytically informed perspective Elisabeth von Essen Department of Work Science, Business Economics and Environmental Psychology, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, 230 53, Alnarp, Sweden A R T I C L E INFO Keywords: Conficting emotions Health anxiety Integration Life and death Meat and dairy products Mental state ABSTRACT This study examined transition to a plant-based diet by young adults and the challenges and conficts this brings. Interviews were conducted with nine young adults in Sweden and the answers were analysed guided by a psychological method from descriptive phenomenology. The results indicate that the transition to a plant-based diet is a process comprising fve dimensions: 1) Exploring new ways of living based on health anxieties, 2) regulating conficting emotions through differentiation, 3) transforming traditional models into new alternatives, 4) confrming new skills and abilities and 5) integrating experiences and emotions into a whole. These fve dimensions refect how transition to a plant-based diet is experienced physically and emotionally. The results also indicate that plant- based meals and ingredients used in the new diet are loaded with symbols and conficting emotions. Psycho- analytically informed theory, especially object relation theory, was used in discussing what can happen to the mind during the transition. In a wider perspective, this study provides insights into how a dietary transition can bring stability to the life of young adults and help them endure and master their situation. More research is needed to assess the role of mental health in transitioning to a plant-based diet and to draw more general conclusions, an area where psychodynamic theory can provide insights. 1. Introduction There has been much discussion on how meals can be used to strengthen an individual’s resilience, increase wellbeing and contribute to healthy psychological development (Masten & O’Dougherty Wright, 2010; NNR, 2012; O’Neil et al., 2014; von Essen, 2015). Cooking has become a symbol of long-term survival, social interaction and activity (Fischler, 1988; Kaufmann, 2010). Special diets, e.g. based on Mediterranean-like ingredients, are believed to contribute to a healthier lifestyle and to positive results in treatment of e.g. Alzheimer’s disease and depressive conditions (Jacka et al., 2017; Lopresti & Jacka, 2015; Opie et al., 2015). Emotional food memories from childhood are used as a safe base to create stability during development into adulthood (von Essen & Mårtensson, 2017). Alternative dietary choices can form part of new strategies in everyday life to provide ‘a second chance’, turning life in a new direction and breaking with negative infuences (R¨ onk¨ a, Ora- vala, & Pulkkinen, 2003; Tugade & Fredrickson, 2004; von Essen, 2015). Eating special dishes can be used to regulate emotional states and in- ternal conficts (Canetti, Bachar, & Berry, 2002; Evers, Marijn Stok, & de Ridder, 2010; Fischer, 1989) and to make moral statements (Coveney, 2016). In recent years, a plant-based diet has become an increasingly important choice for young people (Larson, Perry, Story, & Neumark-Sztainer, 2006; Larsson, R¨ onnlund, Johansson, & Dahlgren, 2003), as an alternative to traditional Swedish food which involves transforming ingredients according to certain rules and standards (Cargill, 2007; M¨ akel¨ a, 2000). In the traditional model, one of the most important ingredients to achieve satiation is meat, sometimes prepared together with vegetables (Ekstr¨ om, 1990). Meat is seen as an symbol of power and masculinity (Ljung, Riley, & Ericsson, 2015; J.; Ogden, 2010; Ruby & Heine, 2011) but also as a way of showing care and love (Sidenvall, Nydahl, & Fjellstr¨ om, 2000). However, recent studies have shown that meat can generate negative emotions (Rosenfeld, 2018b; Rosenfeld & Tomiyama, 2019), have deleterious effects on physical health (Fields, Millstine, Agrwal, & Marks, 2016) and contribute to premature death (Rozin, Markwith, & Stoess, 1997). Red meat has thus become a food that young people increasingly see as posing risks to their own safety and survival (For- estell, Spaeth, & Kane, 2012; von Essen & Englander, 2013). It is now a food that is often avoided (Mullee et al., 2017), primarily for moral reasons or because of emotional identifcation with the suffering of other beings. E-mail address: elisabeth.von.essen@slu.se. Contents lists available at ScienceDirect Appetite journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/appet https://doi.org/10.1016/j.appet.2020.105003 Received 2 April 2020; Received in revised form 30 September 2020; Accepted 8 October 2020