Does Morality Increase the Will to Consume Meat Alternatives? An Online Survey

Abstract

Meat alternatives, which are the representative products of food-tech, are expected to provide as a solution to the negative impacts of increasing meat consumption. Given their reasonable impact on the environment, human health, and animal welfare, consumers could be encouraged to purchase them by appealing to the moral aspects of alternative products. Here we conducted an online survey of 229 US residents to determine whether morality influences consumers’ willingness to purchase meat alternatives. The results showed that morality was a significant explanatory variable in a multiple regression model for predicting willingness to purchase meat alternatives. However, the effect was limited by product and was only significant for plant-based meats. Our results suggested that the willingness to purchase such products is associated with liberal ideology. These findings suggest that appeal to morality may be an effective way to promote meat alternatives, although the topic may be controversial from an ideological standpoint.