Consumer adoption of plant-based meat substitutes: A network of social practices

Eating Macro-Algae (Seaweed): Understanding Factors Driving New Zealand Consumers' Willingness to Eat and Their Perceived Trust towards Country of Origin

Macro-algae is an umbrella term for seaweed, which is an important ingredient in many novel food products in New Zealand and other Australasian countries. While attitudes, consumption motivation, knowledge, and socio-demographic consumer profiles have been investigated in specific countries in the region, consumer behavior such as willingness to eat and factors driving this behavior have not yet been explored. Therefore, the present study fills this research gap in a New Zealand context and explores predictors of New Zealand consumers' willingness to eat macro-algae and their perceived trust towards the countries of origin of these products. The symbolic value of food, health importance, food safety concerns, and food fussiness were the factors under investigation. The work builds on an online questionnaire and a sample of 437 consumers mirroring the New Zealand population in terms of gender, age, and annual household income. Data were collected through an opt-in panel provider in November 2023. The data analysis consisted of descriptive statistics and partial least square structural equation modeling. Results show that health importance and food fussiness tendencies are the strongest predictors of willingness to eat and trustworthiness of the two countries of origin. Best practice recommendations for marketing managers in New Zealand food retail are provided.

Don't throw the individual perspective out while waiting for systemic change

Although it is clear that i-frame approaches cannot stand alone, the impact of s-frame changes can plateau. Combinations of these approaches may best reflect what we know about behavior and how to support behavioral change. Interactions between i-frame and s-frame thinking are explored here using two examples: alcohol consumption and meat consumption.

How to enable healthier and more sustainable food practices in collective meal contexts: A scoping review

Collective meal contexts such as restaurants, cafeterias and canteens can help accelerate transitions to healthier and more sustainable diets. However, evidence from intervention studies on these contexts lacks integration. This scoping review aimed to map determinants of dietary change in collective meal contexts across multiple settings, interventions, target groups, and target behaviors. The review provided two main outcomes: (i) identifying intervention components to promote dietary change in collective meal contexts, based on the existing body of evidence; and (ii) classifying and integrating these intervention components into an overarching framework of behavior change (i.e., COM-B system). The review encompassed twenty-eight databases via two indexing services and extracted information from 232 primary sources (27,458 records selected for title and abstract screening, 574 articles selected for full-text screening). We identified a total of 653 intervention activities, which were classified into intervention components and grouped under three broad themes, namely contextual and environmental changes, social influence, and knowledge and behavioral regulation. Multi-component interventions tended to report overall positive outcomes. The review proposes several directions for future research, including: (i) moving toward more theory-based interventions in collective meal contexts; (ii) providing more detailed information about intervention settings, implementation, target groups, activities, and materials; and (iii) improving the use of open science practices in the field. Furthermore, the review offers a free, original, open-access list and synthesis of 277 intervention studies in collective meal contexts, which can help intervention planners and evaluators optimize their efforts to promote healthier and more sustainable food practices in these contexts.

Transforming practice chains through ideological objects: How plant-based meats impact consumers' everyday food practices

This research investigates the impact of the introduction of plant-based meats (PBMs) on consumers' food practices. Based on the results of 21 in-depth interviews with consumers who use PBMs, this research uses practice theory to explore how the adoption of PBMs affects linked food practices and the meanings associated with these practices. We find that consumers adopt PBMs due to either a desire for meaning coherence or for practicality. Subsequently there are social and embodied ripple consequences associated with this adoption, with consumers revising their social food practices, reconfiguring their understandings of health, and re-orienting their relationship to their body. Our findings extend the research on practice theory by examining how the adoption of a new category of ideological objects shapes other linked consumption practices. Practically, our findings provide important insights for dietary, marketing and health practitioners to understand the overall impact of PBM adoption on consumers' dietary patterns and practices, and their perception about health and body.

Various ways towards animal product limiting - Practical and social engagements in initial phase of dietary change

Reducing one's consumption of foods containing animal products, or avoiding such foods altogether, has become part of everyday life for many people in the Western world. People's motivations for such "animal product limiting" are well-established, but the ways in which individuals enact and experience dietary change in the initial phase are not well understood. Nor is it clear whether, and how, these people present their dietary changes to others. Through the analysis of interviews with 28 people residing in Denmark who had recently (<9 months) embarked on flexitarian, vegetarian or vegan diets, this paper explores how people, in the initial phase of trying to consume fewer, or no, foods with animal products, (i) engage in the practicalities of daily food activities and (ii) communicate their experiences with, and opinions about, the dietary changes they are making in interpersonal interactions. The findings reveal two very different ways of organising the daily food activities: Foodism and Convenience. They also disclose three different ways of communicating in interpersonal interactions: Ethical advocacy, Plant food demonstration and Anonymisation of diet. The paper offers insights into the variation in practices underlying animal product limiting. It suggests that the plant food sector should cater for people relying on convenient food practices as well as those engaged in more advanced ("foodie") practices. Further, in discussing interpersonal communication in the light of community-based social marketing, we argue that the findings highlight how animal product limiters, in everyday social life, may be able to encourage more people to embark on animal product limiting.

Food practices adaptation: Exploring the coping strategies of low-socioeconomic status families in times of disruption

COVID-19 impact on global and national food systems, along with associated physical restrictions, lockdowns, and school closures, have led to dramatic changes in families' everyday food practices. Our research explored the way food practices adapted and emerged, allowing families to cope with the disruption caused by COVID-19. We recruited 18 low socio-economic status families with primary school children across the United Kingdom and New Zealand to partake in two interviews, a survey, and the use of an ethnographic app. Analysis illuminates that this disruption triggered the emergence of three practices that were necessary to carry on and mitigate the impact of disrupted food practices; 'asking for help', 'planning' and 'research and experimentation'. As a way to deal with disruption to their food practices, many participants called on the support of the community, including the use of food banks and the sharing of food. Participants discussed the way they had to plan their food, which often involved the expansion of practices formerly enacted to a small degree, such as curation of online shopping lists and stockpiling. Food research and experimentation also emerged as largely new practices, such as freezing foods, learning new recipes online (YouTube), experimenting with new ingredients and recipes. As such, for some participants, experimentation and research transformed cooking practices into leisure practices. The findings have practical implications for policy makers and non-governmental organisations, such as providing formal support that is accessible while reducing any associated stigma. Designing interventions that integrate planning routines within food practices can help build skills (e.g., bulk cooking and freezing) which can be vital during disruptions, aiding families to cope with the difficulties and aftermath of sudden and large-scale disruption, such as a pandemic.

Consumer Behavior Concerning Meat Consumption: Evidence from Brazil

Recent research has consistently related the production and consumption of meat with environmental degradation, health problems, and damage to animal welfare. However, meat consumption represents a well-established eating behavior among many consumers. After all, meat is a central food in many cultures, and changing eating habits can be very challenging. Nevertheless, there is a group of consumers who have reduced the consumption of meat in their diet. Understanding the facilitators and barriers that influence these behavioral changes in different cultures and contexts can help to promote future collective reductions in meat consumption. This article investigates the main facilitators of and barriers to the reduction of consumption in the largest meat-consuming market in the world to contribute to the advancement of knowledge on meat-reduced diets. In order to achieve this objective, semi-structured interviews were conducted with consumers who reduced their meat consumption. In this context, a content analysis was conducted to identify 22 facilitators and 15 barriers classified according to the COM-B system. This system conceptualizes Behavior, which can be influenced by Capability, Opportunity, and Motivation. The results of this research corroborate previous discoveries or confirm the presence of a set of facilitators of and barriers to the reduction of meat consumption previously suggested in the literature.