TY - JOUR

T1 - Turning your weakness into my strength

T2 - How counter-messaging on conventional meat influences acceptance of cultured meat

AU - Baum, Chad M.

AU - Verbeke, Wim

AU - De Steur, Hans

N1 - Publisher Copyright: © 2021 The Author(s)

PY - 2022/4

Y1 - 2022/4

N2 - With cultured meat now available for purchase in Singapore and more countries expected to follow soon, more and more research has explored the impact of particular individual factors and information provision. To this point, no research has looked explicitly at a counter-messaging approach, whereby problems of conventional meat production are leveraged to make the case for cultured meat. This study employs a 3x1 randomized experimental design with a sample of 302 British adults where participants are provided one of two differently focused counter-messages (animal welfare or environmental impact) or a control text. The study utilizes two repeated measures (before and after information provision) to examine the change in acceptance and investigate related informational effects. Though we find the focus of counter-messaging makes no difference, such an approach does generally promote consumer acceptance. Whereas acceptance of cultured meat is higher among men, younger consumers, and those who eat meat more often, change in acceptance is predicted by perceived consumer effectiveness and, marginally, lack of prior knowledge. By demonstrating the potential of a counter-messaging approach and offering a first examination of determinants of change in acceptance, this research should prove useful for researchers, policymakers, and proponents planning for the ongoing development and marketing of cultured meat.

AB - With cultured meat now available for purchase in Singapore and more countries expected to follow soon, more and more research has explored the impact of particular individual factors and information provision. To this point, no research has looked explicitly at a counter-messaging approach, whereby problems of conventional meat production are leveraged to make the case for cultured meat. This study employs a 3x1 randomized experimental design with a sample of 302 British adults where participants are provided one of two differently focused counter-messages (animal welfare or environmental impact) or a control text. The study utilizes two repeated measures (before and after information provision) to examine the change in acceptance and investigate related informational effects. Though we find the focus of counter-messaging makes no difference, such an approach does generally promote consumer acceptance. Whereas acceptance of cultured meat is higher among men, younger consumers, and those who eat meat more often, change in acceptance is predicted by perceived consumer effectiveness and, marginally, lack of prior knowledge. By demonstrating the potential of a counter-messaging approach and offering a first examination of determinants of change in acceptance, this research should prove useful for researchers, policymakers, and proponents planning for the ongoing development and marketing of cultured meat.

KW - Acceptance

KW - Consumer attitudes

KW - Counter-messaging

KW - Cultured meat

KW - Informational effects

UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85120737886&partnerID=8YFLogxK

U2 - 10.1016/j.foodqual.2021.104485

DO - 10.1016/j.foodqual.2021.104485

M3 - Journal article

AN - SCOPUS:85120737886

VL - 97

JO - Food Quality and Preference

JF - Food Quality and Preference

SN - 0950-3293

M1 - 104485

ER -