STUDY: “Reduce” Or “Go Veg”? The Effects of Advocacy on Meal Choice

Advocating for meat reduction led to more meatless meal purchases than advocating for veg*sm. Four times as many people were willing to pledge to reduce as to pledge to cut-out meat entirely.

JO ANDERSON: ‘Probably the biggest debate in dietary advocacy is around what to ask for. In this study, two key strategies against one another were tested: asking for meat reduction versus going vegetarian… The advocacy method used was as realistic as possible: The videos described the diverse benefits of plant-based eating, showed some mild factory farm footage, and described changing social norms around meat consumption to convey a growing trend… Participants were also asked if they would be willing to take a dietary pledge (either for meat reduction or vegetarianism). Pledges and other types of explicit commitment have been used effectively in environmental advocacy and other domains to increase behavioral follow-through…

The study found that advocating for meat reduction led to more meatless meal purchases than advocating for vegetarianism. Almost four times as many people were willing to pledge to reduce as to pledge to cut out meat entirely. There is far more evidence for the impact of stronger reduction pledges than for better vegetarian (or vegan) messaging. The results show the importance of considering both uptake and follow-through when conducting research on campaign success. This means that advocates need to strengthen reduction pledges to maximize psychological commitment as much as possible’. SOURCE…

RELATED VIDEO: