Familiarity and satisfaction with plant-based meat alternatives around the world

Abstract

Meat consumption around the world is increasing, especially in economically developing countries (e.g., China). There is compelling evidence that the demand and consumption of meat has negative impacts on animal welfare, the environment, and people's health. Plant-Based Meat Alternatives (PBMA) represent one approach to reducing meat consumption. However, relatively little is known about how the factors that influence PBMAs acceptance vary across countries. We sought to examine the effects of gender, age, and meat consumption on familiarity and satisfaction with PBMAs, and to explore how these effects differed across 23 countries on four continents (N = 20,966). We found that women, younger individuals, and those who consumed less meat were more familiar and satisfied with PBMAs. In Asian countries, the association between age and meat consumption with PBMA acceptance was weaker than those in Western countries, perhaps because of cultural differences in dietary traditions. Our findings highlight the importance demography and geographical context in attitudes about PBMAs and have practical implications for meat reduction efforts worldwide.