Meat reduction meets family reality: Negotiating sustainable diets in households with adolescents

Julie Hesselberg, Susanne Pedersen, Alice Grønhøj*

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journal/Conference contribution in journal/Contribution to newspaperJournal articleResearchpeer-review

3 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

Limited research exists on how the transition towards more sustainable eating takes place at the meso-level of family decision-making, or how children and adolescents engage in and possibly influence the process towards more sustainable diets in families. In this paper, we study how public recommendations that encourage reducing the consumption of meat for the benefit of both health and climate are interpreted, negotiated, and acted upon in Danish families with adolescents (aged 15–20) residing at home. We use novel methodological stimuli, including vignettes and a visual sorting task, embedded in qualitative, in-depth interviews to elicit data on parents’ and adolescents’ everyday meat consumption/reduction behaviours. Findings reveal that a desire to uphold harmony and family cohesion serves as simultaneous drivers and barriers to reducing meat consumption. Further, we identify barriers to change in the gendered work hidden in the tasks of planning the integration of more sustainable, green dishes into the meal repertoires. Implications are drawn for social marketers, marketers, and public policymakers, encouraging these to use insights into family food decision-making processes as a lever to facilitate the needed green transition of diets in family households.
Original languageEnglish
Article number107213
JournalAppetite
Volume195
ISSN0195-6663
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - Apr 2024

Keywords

  • Adolescents
  • Diets
  • Family decision-making
  • Meat reduction
  • Social influence
  • Sustainability
  • Humans
  • Parents
  • Meat
  • Family Characteristics
  • Diet
  • Adolescent
  • Negotiating
  • Child

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