Increasing the adoption of protein alternatives could be one of the solutions for improving the sustainability of our current food system. A convenience sample of 574 UK meat eaters completed an online survey incorporating a written shopping scenario (71% female, mean age: 31.8 years). A subset of participants (n = 297) also viewed a video describing the environmental impacts of protein sources and the lab-grown meat production process. Participants imagined selecting burger patties (plant-based, edible insect, lab-grown beef, or conventional beef) from a supermarket shelf and completed measures of expected liking, emotional responses, choice, and food-avoidance traits (food neophobia, food technology neophobia, and food disgust). The beef burger patty was selected the most frequently (63%), associated with positive emotions, and most liked. Plant-based (19%) and lab-grown beef patties (15%) were chosen more often than edible insect patties (2%), reflecting differences in expected liking and an increasing tendency for them to be associated with negative emotions. Trait-based clustering identified four groups (food explorers, novel/disgust fearers, food tech fearers, and everything fearers), each with distinct liking, emotion, and choice patterns for the products. Food explorers appeared to be the most likely early adopters of protein alternatives, especially when compared to everything fearers. Participants who viewed the informational video were more likely to select a protein alternative, although the effect on liking was limited. These findings demonstrate that emotional responses and food-related personal traits play a central role in shaping consumer acceptance of protein alternatives, suggesting that strategies to promote sustainable protein consumption should be tailored to specific consumer segments and product types.
Zhang et al. (Tue,) studied this question.
Synapse has enriched 5 closely related papers on similar clinical questions. Consider them for comparative context: