‘Animal-Reminder Paradox’: Why do people think cultured meat is disgusting?
Being reminded of the animal origins of cultured meat has opposite effects on vegetarians and meat-eaters. Vegetarians become more disgusted by the prospect of cultured meat. In contrast, the meat-eaters become less disgusted.
HAL HERZOG: In a recent article in the Journal of Environmental Psychology, UCLA psychologists Daniel Rosenfeld and Janet Tomiyama reported the results of three studies on differences in reactions to cultured meat among meat-eaters and vegetarians. Their research has important implications for efforts to increase the acceptance of a more humane and environmentally-friendly form of flesh by consumers.
Study 1: Who Finds Cultured Meat Too Disgusting To Eat?
The first study was simple. The goal was to determine what proportion of meat-eaters and vegetarians find cultured meat too disgusting to eat… The results were clear. A substantial portion of both vegetarians and meat-eaters were too grossed out by the idea of cultured meat to even give it a try. Indeed, However, refusal to try cultured meat was more common among vegetarians (55 percent) than omnivores (35 percent)…
Study 2: Is Cultured Meat Too Much Like Real Meat? Or Not Enough Like Real Meat?
Rosenfeld and Tomiyama thought that meat-eaters and vegetarians might have different reasons for eschewing meat derived from the cells, rather than the bodies, of cattle, chicken, and fish. They were interested in how two variables affected disgust toward cultured meat. The first was beliefs about the unnaturalness of cultured meat, and the second was the perception that cultured meat is similar to the flesh of real animals…
The results were surprising. Contrary to the researchers’ expectations, the vegetarians and meat-eaters who had high scores on the unnaturalness scale felt greater disgust toward cultured meat. Indeed, the researchers concluded, “perceptions of unnaturalness strongly explained disgust across both dietary groups.”
But as Rosenfeld and Tomiyama predicted, reminders that cultured meat is similar to the flesh of real animals had different effects on the meat-eaters and the vegetarians. Specifically, perceiving cultured meat as having animal origins (the animal reminder scale scores) was associated with more disgust among vegetarians but less disgust in the meat-eaters…
Study 3: Making Cultured Meat Less Disgusting?
The results of Study 2 suggested that vegetarians and meat-eaters would respond differently to information on the animal origins of cultured meat. Specifically, Rosenfeld and Tomiyama hypothesized that vegetarians would become more disgusted by the idea of eating cultured meat if they read a passage that emphasized cultured meat is composed of animal flesh.
They predicted that meat-eaters, on the other hand, would become less disgusted after they read the same passage…The researchers were right. Being reminded of the animal origins of cultured meat had opposite effects on vegetarians and meat-eaters. The vegetarians in the treatment group became more disgusted by the prospect of cultured meat. In contrast, the meat-eaters became less disgusted…
The results of these studies suggest a paradox. Ad campaigns that stress the similarities between cultured meat and the flesh of real animals might increase the willingness of meat-eaters to give cultured meat a try, ultimately saving the lives of billions of animals. At the same time, animal-reminder-based marketing would probably decrease the appeal of cultured meat to vegetarians and vegans—most of whom eventually go back to eating animals. SOURCE…
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