Consumers (un) acceptance of plant-based meat: an examination of the underlying roles of risk and value perceptions and the moderating role of message appeal

The sustainability implications of meat consumption have contributed to plant-based alternatives becoming an increasingly popular option. Bridging Perceived Risk and Perceived Value within the overarching framework of Prospect Theory, this research proposes a model to test when and why alternative food products influence consumer responses. We test our hypotheses via a 2(product type: plant-based meat vs. meat) ×2(message appeal: rational vs. emotional) between-subjects experimental design (N = 990 Australians). Results show that, regardless of message appeal, meat eaters perceived plant-based meat as riskier and less valuable than meat, reducing acceptance for these alternative food products. Furthermore, an emotional appeal reduces acceptance of plant-based meat among younger generations due to a lower perceived quality. For vegetarians, the rational appeal enhanced perceived quality value for plant-based meat products.