Abstract

Discussions and images of cultivated meat are increasingly common in popular media, often stressing highly technical aspects. Despite growing research on cultivated meat, the importance of information provision in specific, little is known about the influence of images on consumer attitudes and evaluations. Using a representative sample of 727 potential consumers in Germany, the current research employed an experimental survey with a between-subjects design, where participants received information about cultivated meat and its prospective benefits together with (a) no images, (b) images presenting meat in a more familiar form, or (c) images with a laboratory focus. Logistic quantile regression is employed for the first time to assess how determinants of consumer evaluations vary depending on one's intention to try and consume cultivated meat. The results underscore the key role of food technology neophobia as a determinant of consumer evaluations. Moreover, our findings help to clarify why individuals are likely to accept (and not just reject) cultivated meat as well as suggest the potential for misleading inferences when relying on linear regression for analyzing issues of consumer acceptance, behavioral intentions, and the like.

Keywords

Cultivated meat; Consumer evaluation; Information effects; Food technology neophobia; Logistic quantile regression

Published in

Food Quality and Preference
2023, Volume: 110, article number: 104957
Publisher: ELSEVIER SCI LTD

SLU Authors

• Lagerkvist, Carl-Johan

  • Department of Economics, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences
    

UKÄ Subject classification

Food Science


Publication identifier

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.foodqual.2023.104957

Permanent link to this page (URI)

https://res.slu.se/id/publ/124693