Assessing Consumer Responses to Sustainable Plant-based Proteins: Identifying Barriers to Change
Published on 8 March 2013 in Food, health and wellbeing
Introduction
The food and drink industry faces many long term challenges to maintain growth and profitability and produce affordable, safe and nutritious food within an ever changing global economic environment. International factors such as climate change, fuel costs, population growth and changing demographics are all affecting availability and prices for major food ingredients. With the global population set to grow to nine billion by 2050 and increasing prosperity and rising demand for commodity ingredients from emerging economies such as China and India, these challenges can only increase. Yet they also offer new opportunities for Scottish companies to lead, through uptake of innovation that will address these issues, and to accrue added value from existing products.
The major protein source for most people in developed economies is meat and production is seen by some agencies as inefficient in terms of resource use and therefore unsustainable in meeting global demand in the long term. A recent report by Rowett scientists, commissioned by WWF UK, indicates that it is not necessary to eat a completely meat free diet in order to move towards healthy and sustainable dietary choices. Nonetheless it is perceived that some changes in meat consumption may be necessary, and there will be markets both nationally and internationally where people may wish to exercise this choice through overall reduction and more selective and informed inclusion of meat. This offers opportunities for Scottish companies to exploit such changing markets. As part of this process there is a need to understand how plant and other non-animal proteins can be developed, as part of an economically viable alternative and more environmentally sustainable approach to food production.
A research programme at RINH, of which this study forms one component, is examining the ways in which Scottish-sourced plant proteins can contribute to the human diet in terms of nutritional value and physiological effect. However, consumer acceptance of such innovations will also be critical. This four year study, which began in December 2012, draws on social science theory and methods to augment data from the parallel laboratory research programme. We will use qualitative research approaches to explore social, economic, cultural and other barriers to consumers’ incorporation of sustainable plant-based proteins into their diet.
Key Points
- Modern societies are characterised by a wide spectrum of more and less sustainable consumption patterns around food choice.
- Public acceptance is a key factor that will influence the development of sustainable plant-based proteins as supplements or alternatives to a diet based on traditional animal protein sources.
- We need to know more about the barriers to, and potential for, such dietary change amongst consumers. This is important for both food producers and policy makers in Scotland.
Research Undertaken
Over the next four years we will work with a broad range of consumers to explore and assess how people in Scotland perceive plant-based protein sources. This briefing highlights some key findings from a review of the relevant multi-disciplinary literatures.
A review of consumer views of novel, technology-based foods has identified a range of influential factors such as cost, complexity, convenience-related features, taste properties, physical appearance, perceived naturalness of a product, consumer confidence in the processing methods used to create novel foods. Such influential factors can be categorised as external to the consumer. Internal factors, such as cognitive processes, values, habits and emotions, have also been reported as influences on consumer behaviour. For the producers of novel foods to ‘get it right’ across such a complex domain of factors is clearly challenging, but important.
Trust in authoritative experts is regarded as a further significant factor that influences acceptance of new foods. The source of expertise also matters: independent scientists and consumer organisations, in contrast to industry-based experts, are believed more likely to exert a positive influence on public opinion. Trust appears to diminish barriers to consuming unknown ingredients that might otherwise be viewed as a possible threat to health. In other words, trust works to reduce anxiety, uncertainty and perceived risk. This suggests that the communication and framing of new food products by trusted experts may be of critical importance for widespread acceptance of novel foods.
Policy Implications
In the context of climate change, the obesity ‘epidemic’ and economic uncertainty, issues of food security and sustainability loom large for both food producers and for policy makers concerned with Scotland’s economic future and the nutritional health of its population. Yet, despite the increasing attention now being paid to issues of food security and sustainability we do not fully understand how consumers will respond to the challenges of incorporating more sustainable but less familiar protein sources into their diet. Our study will contribute to this key issue by highlighting both barriers to change and way in which, we hope, such barriers can be overcome.
Authors
Dr Sandra Carlisle sandra.carlisle@abdn.ac.uk
Mr Rens Wilderom r01rbw12@abdn.ac.uk
