College Students’ Awareness, Beliefs, Attitudes and Consumption Intention Towards Plant-Based Meat and Its Environmental Impact

OBJECTIVES: To assess the awareness, beliefs, attitudes, and consumption intention of college students associated with the consumption of plant-based meat and its environmental impact. METHODS: Undergraduate students enrolled (aged 17–23) in a general education course at a large Northeast university completed an online survey in early December of 2021 via Qualtrics. The final sample yielded 251 valid responses after data cleaning. Students were asked to describe plant-based meat consumption experience/interest, aside from reasons for choosing a primarily plant-based diet as well as costs, environmental impact, and information access/interest associated with this type of dietary choice. RESULTS: Fifty-seven % of participants had prior experience consuming a plant-based meat alternative, and 85.2% (n = 208) were willing to try at least one type of plant-based meat (burger, sausage, or ground meat), consistent with current consumer market trends. For those who have tried plant-based meat before, the mean “liking” score was 6.30 (measured on a 10-point scale). The most-reported perceived reasons for why people choose to keep a primarily plant-based diet were: ethical (84.5%, n = 212), environmental (80.1%, n = 201), and health (71.3%, n = 179) considerations. Participant belief in the role of increased plant-based meal consumption in reducing the impact of animal meat production on the environment was moderately strong (M = 6.76, measured on a 10-point scale). They also indicated a middling response (M = 5.06) to consuming plant-based meat products if the cost was about the same as animal meat products. A similar response pattern was also found for perceived information availability on plant-based meals (M = 5.45) and interest in receiving more information about them (M = 5.05). CONCLUSIONS: This study suggests that college students are willing to try more plant-based meat and believe that increased consumption of plant-based meat can positively impact the environment. Expanding information availability through social marketing campaigns to increase knowledge and interest in plant-based meals could help promote greater consumption, better health, and greater environmental protection. FUNDING SOURCES: None.