Adaption of the meat attachment scale (MEAS) to Germany: interplay with food neophobia, preference for organic foods, social trust and trust in food technology innovations

Abstract Meat-based diets are still the norm, and vegans and vegetarians represent only a small minority of the population. A transition, respectively, behavioural change towards a diet with less meat can only occur by adopting a positive attitude towards dietary changes based on reasons and motivations. The main aim of this study is to apply the meat attachment scale (MEAS) in Germany in order to analyse if this construct is a barrier towards a diet with less meat in this country. For this purpose, the impact of meat attachment on the trust in different protein alternatives (plant-based, insects, cultured meat) and related food processing technologies is analysed. The findings reveal that a high level of meat attachment goes along with lower trust in plant-based proteins. Similar holds for cultured meat and insect proteins. Thus it appears that, at least for the moment, cultured meat or proteins from insects are not a logical substitute for the heavily meat attached consumer. Furthermore, in the analysis, we considered if meat attachment as measured by the MEAS is correlated with other scales/preferences such as food neophobia, social trust, and attitude towards respective preference for organic products. Literature shows that all mentioned constructs impact the acceptance, preference or trust in more sustainable food product innovation, respectively, more sustainable food processing techniques. The outcome of the correlation analysis demonstrated that in particular food neophobia and meat attachment are not correlated with each other. That is, the MEAS represents a predictor for trust in food (processing) technologies as e.g. plant-based proteins or cultured meat that is independent of the neophobia construct.