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Red and processed meat consumption and purchasing behaviours and attitudes: impacts for human health, animal welfare and environmental sustainability

Clonan, Angie; Wilson, Paul; Swift, Judy A.; Leibovici, Didier; Holdsworth, Michelle

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Authors

Angie Clonan

Profile image of PAUL WILSON

PAUL WILSON PAUL.WILSON@NOTTINGHAM.AC.UK
Professor of Agricultural Economics

Judy A. Swift

Didier Leibovici

Michelle Holdsworth



Abstract

Objective: Higher intakes of red and processed meat are associated with poorer health outcomes and negative environmental impacts. Drawing upon a population survey the present paper investigates meat consumption behaviours, exploring perceived impacts for human health, animal welfare and the environment.
Design: Structured self-completion postal survey relating to red and processed meat, capturing data on attitudes, sustainable meat purchasing behaviour, red and processed meat intake, plus sociodemographic characteristics of respondents.
Setting: Urban and rural districts of Nottinghamshire, East Midlands, UK, drawn from the electoral register.
Subjects: UK adults (n 842) aged 18–91 years, 497 females and 345 males, representing a 35·6 % response rate from 2500 randomly selected residents.
Results: Women were significantly more likely (P <0·01) to consume≤1 portion of meat/d compared with men. Females and older respondents (>60 years) were more likely to hold positive attitudes towards animal welfare (P<0·01). Less than a fifth (18·4 %) of the sample agreed that the impact of climate change could be reduced by consuming less meat, dairy products and eggs. Positive attitudes towards animal welfare were associated with consuming less meat and a greater frequency of ‘higher welfare’ meat purchases.
Conclusions: Human health and animal welfare are more common motivations to avoid red and processed meat than environmental sustainability. Policy makers, nutritionists and health professionals need to increase the public’s awareness of the environmental impact of eating red and processed meat. A first step could be to ensure that dietary guidelines integrate the nutritional, animal welfare and environmental components of sustainable diets.

Citation

Clonan, A., Wilson, P., Swift, J. A., Leibovici, D., & Holdsworth, M. (in press). Red and processed meat consumption and purchasing behaviours and attitudes: impacts for human health, animal welfare and environmental sustainability. Public Health Nutrition, 19(13), https://doi.org/10.1017/S1368980015000567

Journal Article Type Article
Acceptance Date Jan 22, 2015
Online Publication Date Mar 13, 2015
Deposit Date Oct 11, 2016
Publicly Available Date Oct 11, 2016
Journal Public Health Nutrition
Print ISSN 1368-9800
Electronic ISSN 1475-2727
Publisher Cambridge University Press
Peer Reviewed Peer Reviewed
Volume 19
Issue 13
DOI https://doi.org/10.1017/S1368980015000567
Keywords meat, health, animal welfare, environment
Public URL https://nottingham-repository.worktribe.com/output/747666
Publisher URL https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/public-health-nutrition/article/red-and-processed-meat-consumption-and-purchasing-behaviours-and-attitudes-impacts-for-human-health-animal-welfare-and-environmental-sustainability/E8632CE4789A6D2903B7E445E63BC76F
Contract Date Oct 11, 2016

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