Confronting the meat paradox in different cultural contexts: Reactions among Chinese and French participants

Tian, Qirui; Hilton, Denis; Becker, Maja

doi:10.1016/j.appet.2015.09.009

Cited by 66 publications

(75 citation statements)

References 32 publications

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“…Manipulating the sensory properties of meat and meat-free products was promising for encouraging lower meat demand and was implemented through two strategies: improving the hedonic appeal of meat alternatives at point of purchase 49 or highlighting the animal origin of a meat product by displaying the animal's head 43, 44. The effectiveness of improving the hedonic appeal of meat at point of purchase was in line with previous research on the association between the hedonic appeal of foods and purchasing intentions,60, 61 whereas the effectiveness of highlighting the animal origin of a meat product by displaying the animal's head contrasted with previous studies, which found no evidence to suggest that leading participants to reflect about the animal suffering involved in the production of meat products reduced their demand for meat 62 . It is possible that highlighting the animal suffering involved in producing meat might offer more promise for reducing meat demand when enacted through changes to physical micro-environments than through more abstract motivational tasks.…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 86%

Restructuring physical micro-environments to reduce the demand for meat: a systematic review and qualitative comparative analysis

Bianchi

Garnett

Dorsel

et al. 2018

The Lancet Planetary Health

166

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SummaryBackgroundReducing meat consumption could help to protect the natural environment and promote population health. Interventions restructuring physical micro-environments might help to change habitual behaviour. We synthesised the scientific evidence pertaining to whether, and which, interventions restructuring physical micro-environments effectively reduce the demand for meat.MethodsWe did a systematic review of quantitative studies evaluating the effectiveness of interventions restructuring physical micro-environments to reduce the demand for meat. We identified relevant records by searching six electronic databases (CAB Abstracts, Embase, PsycINFO, Science Citation Index, MEDLINE, and Dissertations & Theses) on Aug 31, 2017, contacting experts, screening publicly accessible online resources, and searching references. We included studies that evaluated the effectiveness of interventions restructuring physical micro-environments to reduce the demand for meat, defined as the actual or intended consumption, purchase, or selection of meat in real or virtual environments. We extracted data pertaining to the study samples, the interventions, and meat demand at the follow-up closest to intervention completion and at the longest follow-up, with the former representing our primary outcome. We synthesised data narratively and did a qualitative comparative analysis to identify configurations of intervention characteristics associated with, and those not found to be associated with, significant reductions in meat demand. Our Systematic Review is registered with PROSPERO, number CRD42017081532.ResultsOf 10 733 titles and abstracts screened for eligibility, we assessed 60 full papers and included 14 papers reporting on 18 studies with 22 intervention conditions. Three interventions reducing the portion size of meat servings reduced meat consumption in randomised trials. Three interventions providing meat alternatives with supporting educational material were associated with reduced meat demand in pre-post design studies. Three of four interventions altering the sensory properties (eg, visual presentation) of meat or meat alternatives at point of purchase reduced meat demand in randomised trials. Four interventions repositioning meat products to be less prominent at point of purchase were associated with lower meat demand, but only two such interventions reached statistical significance in a randomised trial and a multiple treatment reversal design. Only one of five interventions manipulating the description of meat or meat alternatives at point of purchase was associated with lower meat demand in a multiple treatment reversal design. Evidence from randomised trials evaluating a pricing intervention or interventions restructuring several aspects of micro-environments was too scarce or inconsistent to be conclusive. The results from our qualitative comparative analysis supported the findings of this narrative synthesis.InterpretationSome interventions restructuring physical micro-environments could help to promote lower d...

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Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 86%

Restructuring physical micro-environments to reduce the demand for meat: a systematic review and qualitative comparative analysis

Bianchi

Garnett

Dorsel

et al. 2018

The Lancet Planetary Health

166

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…Similar differences between vegetarians and ethical 'conscious omnivores' have been described by Rothgerber (2015). In part, such small percentages may be explained by the fact that many modern consumers are accustomed to highly standardized meat products, commonly sold in supermarkets and de-animalized to avoid reminding customers about the link between the meat dish and the killing of an animal (Hoogland, de Boer, & Boersema, 2005;Schröder & McEachern, 2004;Tian, Hilton, & Becker, 2016;Vialles, 1994). Another explanation is that consumers develop distinct categories for food animals and other animals, which are associated with different beliefs about the capacity of the animals to suffer (Bratanova, Loughnan, & Bastian, 2011).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 82%

“…Building on the idea that there is currently a paradox between people's love for animals and their love for eating them, many studies have explored whether and under what conditions non-vegetarians may feel some incongruence in regard to meat eating (Bastian & Loughnan, 2016;Bratanova et al, 2011;Hoogland et al, 2005;Kunst & Hohle, 2016;Loughnan, Haslam, & Bastian, 2010;Rothgerber, 2014;Tian et al, 2016). Results of several experiments show that consumers are sensitive to traditional reminders of the animal origin of meat, such as a carcass with a head, which may give rise to feelings of empathy for the animal that had been slaughtered or negative feelings about eating the meat (Hoogland et al, 2005;Kunst & Hohle, 2016;Tian et al, 2016). What the experiments also demonstrate is that some of these consumers then become sensitive to an opportunity to act ethically, for instance, by favoring free range and organic meat (Hoogland et al, 2005) or by choosing a vegetarian alternative (Kunst & Hohle, 2016), if this option is offered to them.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Towards a reduced meat diet: Mindset and motivation of young vegetarians, low, medium and high meat-eaters

Boer¹,

Schösler

Aiking³

2017

Appetite

173

103

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This study provides insight into differences and similarities in the mindset and motivation of four dietary groups (young self-declared vegetarians, low, medium and high meat-eaters) to support the development of strategies for a general transition to a less meat-based diet. The paper highlights the value of the identity concept for our understanding of both vegetarians and meat eaters. The analysis involves a comparison of the four dietary groups focusing on the strength and the profile of their food-related motivation and their reasons for and against frequent meat eating. To check for the generalizability of the results, the analyses were performed in two samples of adults (aged 18-35) in the Netherlands (native Dutch, n = 357, and second generation Chinese Dutch, n = 350). In both samples, the vegetarians had the same level of food-related motivation as the other groups, but a different motivational profile and distinctive, taste- and animal-welfare related reasons to justify their abstinence from eating meat. The low and medium meat-eaters often considered health a reason to eat meat as well as to moderate meat eating, plus they liked to vary their meals. In these aspects they were different from both the vegetarians and the high meat-eaters. The findings are relevant for (non) governmental organizations that aim to influence dietary choices, as well as for businesses that operate in the market of meat substitutes.

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“…Others have argued that meat eating can be connected to gender norms (see, e.g. , Adams 1990;Rothgerber 2013;Sobal 2005) or cultural backgrounds (e.g., Ali 2015; Tian, Hilton, and Becker 2016). However, ours is the first study using interview data to identify cultural repertoires that are then integrated with prior psychological findings as ways to explain the meat paradox.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 91%

Maintaining Meat: Cultural Repertoires and the Meat Paradox in a Diverse Sociocultural Context

2019

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Despite rising concerns about the meat industry and animal slaughter, meat consumption in Europe and North America remains relatively high, what has been called the “meat paradox.” In this article, we examine a diverse sample of Canadian meat eaters and vegetarians to build on earlier work on the psychological strategies people employ to justify eating meat. We analyze the explanations people give for meat eating within the context of what sociologists term cultural repertoires—the taken‐for‐granted, unarticulated scripts that inform actions. We distinguish between two types of repertoires: identity repertoires that have a basis in personal, embodied group identities and regularly draw from vivid first‐person experiences; and liberty repertoires that are more abstractly conceptualized and signal peoples' sense of their rights in social space. We find that these repertoires function in distinct ways, both in regard to how participants situated themselves within them, and in their capacity to facilitate active engagement with the ethical implications of conduct. Through these repertoires, we show how the meanings attributed to meat consumption are crucial for understanding its persistence in the face of strong reasons to change, while also advancing literature on cultural repertoires by highlighting their variability.

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Confronting the meat paradox in different cultural contexts: Reactions among Chinese and French participants

Cited by 66 publications

References 32 publications

Restructuring physical micro-environments to reduce the demand for meat: a systematic review and qualitative comparative analysis

Restructuring physical micro-environments to reduce the demand for meat: a systematic review and qualitative comparative analysis

Towards a reduced meat diet: Mindset and motivation of young vegetarians, low, medium and high meat-eaters

Maintaining Meat: Cultural Repertoires and the Meat Paradox in a Diverse Sociocultural Context

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