Abstract
Sustainability is becoming an increasingly important consideration for consumers when purchasing food. As meat production has a significant impact on the environment, meat substitutes are becoming more and more popular in Europe. However, consumers who regularly buy meat substitutes are still the exception. Although there are some initial results indicating why this proportion is still low, most research has been concentrated in the Netherlands. This paper aims to compare reasons for consuming or not consuming meat substitutes in three European countries—Germany, the Netherlands and France. As very little is known about the underlying reasons, an explorative approach was chosen. Focus group discussions were carried out in all three countries, six altogether. The results show that all participants can enumerate meat substitutes. The main reason for not consuming meat substitutes is the taste of meat. Further, eating habits seem to be fixed and convenience might also be an impediment to reducing meat consumption in favour of meat substitutes, as is confusion regarding healthy eating.
Highlights
Meat substitutes are playing an increasingly important role in the sustainability debate in Western societies
Focus group interviews are appropriate for cross-cultural comparisons [45]
The results of the focus group discussions in Germany, France and the Netherlands showed that consumers in all three countries could enumerate manifold substitutes for meat
Summary
Meat substitutes are playing an increasingly important role in the sustainability debate in Western societies. In developing countries the demand for meat is still increasing, in some Western countries like Germany, France and Switzerland, the demand for meat has stagnated or is even slightly decreasing [1,2]. These tendencies can be found in predictions of future dietary patterns. Recent consumer research shows that in 15 years’ time, meat and dairy consumption will most likely have decreased in several consumer segments [3]. Sustainability aspects of meat consumption are manifold and typically subdivided into three dimensions [4,5,6].
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