• Meat substitutes: Environment does not m

    From ScienceDaily@1:317/3 to All on Tue Apr 26 22:30:44 2022
    Meat substitutes: Environment does not motivate consumption
    Animal welfare and health aspects, on the other hand, promote the use of
    meat alternatives

    Date:
    April 26, 2022
    Source:
    University of Bonn
    Summary:
    People who have a critical attitude toward factory farming or who
    pay attention to their health in everyday life are more likely
    to turn to meat substitutes. Concern for the environment, on the
    other hand, appears to play no role in this decision.



    FULL STORY ==========================================================================
    Meat substitutes are on the rise: While they used to have a niche
    existence in health food stores or organic stores, wheat salami,
    tofu schnitzel or soy mince can now be found in every well-stocked
    supermarket. "We wanted to know why consumers choose these alternatives," explains Jeanette Klink-Lehmann, who is doing her doctorate at the
    Institute of Food and Resource Economics at the University of Bonn in
    the department of Prof. Dr. Monika Hartmann.


    ========================================================================== Klink-Lehmann and Hartmann, together with their colleague Nick Marcus,
    surveyed 441 men and women from all over Germany for the analysis. The participants were asked, for example, to state how much they care about
    their health, whether they think humanity is heading for an ecological
    crisis and whether animal husbandry in agriculture should be ethically questioned. They also indicated their attitude toward meat substitutes
    and their intention to consume them regularly in the future.

    Animal welfare and health aspects motivate consumption "We have now
    examined the statistical relationships between these responses based on an extension of a recognized behavioral model," says Marcus. The researchers
    came across a surprising result: greater concern for the environment
    was not associated with a better rating of meat substitutes, nor with a
    greater intention to buy them. "We had expected that ecological aspects
    would also play a role in the intention to consume meat alternatives,"
    Marcus explains. "However, that has not been confirmed." The researchers
    can only speculate about the reasons for the discrepancy between the participants' environmental concerns and their behavioral intention. For example, the survey data already dates from 2017 -- a time when the
    "Fridays for Future" movement did not yet exist. "Since then, the
    issue of the environment has been much more prominent on the agenda," Klink-Lehmann emphasizes. "As a result, more people are probably aware of
    the potentially negative environmental effects of meat consumption today
    than they were five years ago." Animal welfare concerns played a major
    role in the respondents' consumption decisions: those who view factory
    farming critically, (unsurprisingly) have a more positive attitude toward plant-based sausages and veggie burgers on average. This attitude, in
    turn, has a beneficial effect on the intention to use these alternatives
    in the future. A pronounced health consciousness is also associated
    with a greater willingness to consume meat substitutes. Furthermore,
    the attitudes of friends and close relatives toward meat substitutes
    has a significant influence on this decision.

    Targeted marketing of the advantages Marcus, Klink-Lehmann and Hartmann recommend, on the one hand, better communication of the ecological
    advantages of meat alternatives. In addition, the industry should pay
    attention to a healthy and balanced composition in the manufacture of
    its products. Moreover, where animal-based foods such as eggs are used in
    meat substitutes, they should come from farms that pay attention to good
    animal husbandry. "Animal welfare and health are obviously very important
    to consumers," says Klink-Lehmann. "So manufacturers would do well to
    take these aspects into account and then market their foods accordingly."

    ========================================================================== Story Source: Materials provided by University_of_Bonn. Note: Content
    may be edited for style and length.


    ========================================================================== Journal Reference:
    1. N. Marcus, J. Klink-Lehmann, M. Hartmann. Exploring factors
    determining
    German consumers' intention to eat meat alternatives. Food Quality
    and Preference, 2022; 104610 DOI: 10.1016/j.foodqual.2022.104610 ==========================================================================

    Link to news story: https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2022/04/220426153721.htm

    --- up 8 weeks, 1 day, 10 hours, 51 minutes
    * Origin: -=> Castle Rock BBS <=- Now Husky HPT Powered! (1:317/3)