Determinants of consumer acceptance of meat analogues: Exploring measures of risk preferences in predicting consumption

• Published in: Journal of agriculture and food research 2023-03, Vol.11, p.100509, Article 100509
• Main Authors: Begho, Toritseju, Zhu, Ying
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Attitudes; Behaviour; Consumer acceptance; Novel food; Plant-based meat; Risk
• ISSN: 2666-1543; 2666-1543
• DOI: 10.1016/j.jafr.2023.100509

There are perceptions that meat alternatives carry risks similar to other novel foods. These perceptions are barriers to its acceptance by meat consumers. Previous studies reported an association between risk attitudes and consumer food choices on the one hand and consumption decisions on the other. Thus, this paper extends the investigation to whether consumers' risk preferences and perceptions influence the intent to try and the intent to accept meat analogues. Risk preferences were elicited by a self-reported and a lottery-style hybrid experiment framed as food and non-food context. We surveyed Chinese meat consumers and analysed the data using probit regression. We find that different factors explain the intent to try meat analogues for the first time and the intent to repeat consuming meat analogues. Specifically, the results show that the main determinants of the intent to try meat analogues were consumers' risk attitudes toward foods in general, new foods specifically and food nutrient composition. As expected, respondents who reported being one of the first to try new foods are more likely to have the intent to try meat analogues for the first time. In addition, we find that the greater the risk perceived from eating new foods, the less likely the intent to try meat analogues. Also, having the intent to try meat analogues decreases with nutritional uncertainties. On the other hand, the intent to repeat consuming meat analogues was influenced by attitude to food safety. The less respondents are bothered about food safety, the greater the chances they would have the intent to repeat consuming meat analogues. We conclude that different barriers need to be overcome for people to try meat analogues from those required to sustain consumption. [Display omitted] •The paper investigated the effect of risk preferences on consumption intentions of meat analogues.•Risk attitudes were determined from self-reported and a lottery-style hybrid experiment.•The intent to try meat analogue and to repeat consuming meat analogues was influenced by risk attitudes.