Correlates of the willingness to consume insects: a meta-analysis

Abstract

Although insects are a sustainable meat alternative, the willingness to consume (WTC) them remains generally low. We synthesised the effects of WTC correlates reported in 37 studies and also investigated the moderating effects of certain study characteristics. Across a large number of studies, affect-based factors, such as ‘food neophobia’, ‘disgust’ and ‘the expected unpleasant taste of insects’, were consistently strongly correlated with WTC (r̄=-0.33-0.55). Information-based factors, such as ‘the perceived sustainability of insects as food’ and ‘the perceived nutritiousness of insects as food’, also impacted WTC (r̄=0.32-0.55). However, the number of contributing studies in this regard was low. Curiosity appears to be relevant to WTC because ‘food sensation and innovation seeking’ (r̄=0.29) positively impacted WTC. ‘Age, education and gender’ were relatively unrelated to WTC (r̄=-0.14-0.00) across a large number of studies. Combatting affective barriers through gradual and/or early exposure – i.e. increasing the ‘familiarity with the concept of eating insects’ (r̄=0.10) and allowing consumers’ experiences with ‘insect consumption’ (r̄=0.35) to develop over time – will help foster entomophagy acceptance in the long run. In comparison, information-based interventions may have limited effectivity, but they can be implemented in the short term. As meta-regressions have shown, future researchers must consider whether the presentation of the edible insects has moderating effects, e.g. presenting specific as compared to non-specific products (β=-0.47) or actual products (β=-0.56) and pictures of such products (β=-0.55) as compared to mere verbal descriptions. Classical psychological entomophagy factors have been explored comprehensively, and research should also adopt a more market-oriented focus.