Comparison of public attitudes toward five alternative proteins in Japan

Abstract

Alternative proteins (or alternative meats) have attracted much recent attention from the food sector and the public. Although many studies have investigated public attitudes toward alternative proteins in Western countries, there have been few such surveys in Japan. Additionally, relatively few analyses have compared between ones of different alternative proteins. Therefore, this study aimed to investigate Japanese attitudes toward the alternative proteins of insects, plant-based meat, cultured meat, milk alternatives, and microalgae. We conducted an online questionnaire survey (N = 5,000) with respondents from all over Japan. Results showed that social acceptance of plant-based meat was the highest (70.2%), followed by microalgae (57.8%) and milk alternatives (50.8%) and social acceptance of insect protein was the lowest (19.5%), followed by cultured meat (40.9%). Our comparative analysis of image associations showed that insect protein had a distinctly negative image among the alternative proteins. Further, our survey found that the level of scientific interest was the critical common factor in determining the attitudes toward these foods. Daily consumption of foods, age and gender affected the attitudes toward various alternative proteins. More than 40.0% of participants wanted labeling regulation for all alternative proteins by the government, in a relatively similar pattern among different types of alternative proteins. Our results would contribute to understanding public attitudes toward alternative proteins, which is helpful in practicing science communication for the meat industry, food sectors, and policymakers.