To What Extent Are Consumers’ Perception and Acceptance of Alternative Meat Production Systems Affected by Information? The Case of Cultured Meat

Abstract

The global meat production system is currently under pressure, particularly for its environmental and animal wellbeing impacts, as well as for the increasing protein demand worldwide. In this regard, cultured meat is currently a hot topic in the industrial, political, and societal arenas, revealing itself as the potential relief for the issues above. However, its high degree of novelty may hamper the extent of consumers’ acceptance. This research assesses for which beliefs concerning intrinsic attributes and positive externalities, the provision of information is a sufficient tool for affecting the perception and acceptance of cultured meat on a panel of Italian consumers. Changes in perception and willingness to try, buy, and pay are assessed by measuring the variation before and after the provision of positive information related to the product. The results show that perception is affected by positive information concerning safety and nutritional characteristics, whereas the opposite occurs regarding the product flavor. Furthermore, findings reveal that, while the willingness to buy increases after providing positive information, the willingness to try does not. Finally, information on intrinsic attributes and positive externalities of the cultured meat would have to be combined with different approaches for further enhancement of consumers’ perception and acceptance.

Consumer Acceptance of Cultured Meat: An Updated Review (2018–2020)

“…Zhang, Li and Bai [33] found that providing additional information about the environmental benefits of cultured meat increased acceptance amongst urban Chinese consumers. Mancini and Antonioli [18] found that providing additional positive information about cultured meat significantly increased the various measures of acceptance including the willingness to buy, but not the willingness to try.…”

“…There is evidence that consumers do care about the animal suffering of meat production; Weinrich et al [31] found that perceiving cultured meat as an ethical product was the strongest driver of purchase intent in a representative German sample, whilst Bryant et al [21] report that the ethical evaluation of cultured meat was especially important in India. Mancini and Antonioli [18] found that extra information improved the perceptions of the animal welfare implications of cultured meat, except for vegetarians.…”

“…Mancini and Antonioli [18] found that the perceived environmental-friendliness of cultured meat could be increased with an information intervention, indicating that educating consumers about the environmental advantages of cultured meat is likely to be valuable.…”

“…While consumers are generally cautious about the safety of cultured meat [28], this is also one attitude which appears to be particularly malleable given further information. Mancini and Antonioli [18] note that the perceived safety increased significantly when consumers were given additional information about cultured meat, and speculate that perceived safety could be greatly improved if cultured meat received approval from the European Food Safety Authority.…”

“…This suggests that some consumers are likely to be willing to pay a premium, but others certainly are not and will be price sensitive. Mancini and Antonioli [18] found that the willingness to pay a premium was increased with additional information.…”