Associations between motivations for and against eating meat with four types of meat engagement
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 11356709 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Maxim Trenkenschuh (0009-0001-2200-7612, University of Zurich, corresponding author), João Graça (0000-0001-6868-9420, University of Lisbon), Christopher J Hopwood (0000-0001-6645-8645, University of Zurich) |
| Year | 2025 |
| Volume | 215 |
| Pages | 108237 |
| Publication date | 2025-11-01 |
| Peer Reviewed | Yes |
| Open Access | Yes |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | Appetite (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 0195-6663 • E-ISSN: 1095-8304 |
| Publisher | Elsevier BV (PUBLISHER) |
| DOI | 10.1016/j.appet.2025.108237 |
| PMID | 40712671 |
| OpenAlex | W4412609857 |
| Language | EN |
| Citations received | 1 |
| References cited | 44 |
Because of its negative consequences for animal welfare, human health, and the environment, many individuals and institutions are interested in reducing meat consumption. To achieve this goal, it is important to understand the reasons people have both to eat meat (e.g., liking the taste) and to avoid it (e.g., environmental concerns), and how these reasons relate to meat engagement. However, existing research often examines motivations and outcomes in relative isolation, rather than linking different types of motivations to multiple forms of engagement. Here, we examined how general motivations (i.e., overarching tendencies to endorse multiple reasons for and against eating meat) and specific motivations (e.g., taste, environmental concern) relate to various forms of meat engagement - including meat consumption measured through a survey and daily food tracking over 21 days, dietary identity, preferences, and reduction goals - in a sample of N = 4447 Swiss residents. General motivations to avoid meat were associated with lower meat engagement, whereas general motivations to eat meat were associated with higher meat engagement, with the latter effect being stronger. Furthermore, specific motivations were related to specific kinds of engagement. For example, taste was closely related to meat preference, disgust predicted lower identity and consumption, and environmental concern was more strongly linked to reduction goals. These findings suggest that general and specific motivations contribute in distinct ways to how people eat, relate to, and set goals around meat. This highlights the importance of understanding meat-related motivations across target groups to influence dietary attitudes and behavior
Biology · Agriculture Sustainability and Environmental Impact · Insect Utilization and Effects · Meat and Animal Product Quality · Psychology · Food Science
Health, environmental, and animal rights motives for vegetarian eating
Development of Food Preferences
The Hierarchical Model of Approach-Avoidance Motivation
Reducing meat consumption and following plant-based diets
Meat consumption, health, and the environment
Meta-analysis of the relationship between risk perception and health behavior
Cutoff criteria for fit indexes in covariance structure analysis
Prospect Theory
The weirdest people in the world?
Twenty years after Hines, Hungerford, and Tomera
Theories of motivation
Meta-analyses of factors motivating climate change adaptation behaviour
Drivers and causes of zoonotic diseases
But I Don’t Eat that Much Meat”
The psychology of eating animals and veg*nism
The Veg∗n Eating Motives Inventory Plus (Vemi+)
Still eating like there's no tomorrow? A qualitative study to revisit attitudes and awareness around sustainable diets after 10 years
What's your beef with meat substitutes? Exploring barriers and facilitators for meat substitutes in omnivores, vegetarians, and vegans
Development and validation of the motivations to Eat Meat Inventory
Meat disgust is negatively associated with meat intake – Evidence from a cross-sectional and longitudinal study
Rationalizing meat consumption. The 4Ns
Examining the “Veggie” personality
Health, ethics and environment
Meat in context. On the relation between perceptions and contexts
Development and validation of the Dietarian Identity Questionnaire
Meat tastes good, legumes are healthy and meat substitutes are still strange - The practice of protein consumption among Swedish consumers
Behavioral inhibition, behavioral activation, and affective responses to impending reward and punishment
Understanding the process of moralization
| Unique citing works | 1 |
|---|---|
| Citations per year | 1 |
| Citation span | 2026 - 2026 (1) |
| Citation velocity | current |
| Highly cited | No |
| Citation types | Neutral: 1 |