Translated from our German original by AI. The German text was researched, written, and edited by the Psychedelia Foundation team and remains the authoritative version.
People who have used psilocybin or LSD in the past are more likely to hold positive attitudes toward environmental and nature conservation, and more likely to eat a vegetarian diet. That is the result of an analysis of data from two British birth cohorts: the National Child Development Study of 1958 and the British Cohort Study of 1970. Around 21,800 participants were included in total. The data analyzed were collected in 2000, when the participants were 42 and 30 years old respectively.
Participants who had taken psilocybin or LSD at least once in their lives held stronger pro-environmental attitudes and were more likely to eat a vegetarian diet. Those with past psilocybin use also showed a dietary profile with more salad and raw vegetables, and fewer sweets and less red meat.
The analysis suggests that pro-environmental attitudes account for part of the link between psychedelic experience and a vegetarian diet. Since this is a retrospective observational study, no causal conclusions follow from it. It remains open in particular whether psychedelic experiences themselves influence environmental attitudes or diet, or whether other factors explain the associations observed.
