Beyond the Meat Paradox: Psychological Factors Underpinning Animal Product Consumption and Abstention Among Different Dietary Groups

The social psychological and moral factors underpinning meat consumption have been documented extensively. However, few studies have investigated how these factors are associated with the consumption of other animal products such as fish, dairy, and egg products. This is important in order to identify psychological barriers that prevent people shifting towards more plant-based diets, which benefit animal welfare, the environment, and global health. The general objective of this thesis was to examine psychological factors that underpin animal product consumption by comparing participants from a range of dietary groups namely omnivores, pescatarians, flexitarians, vegetarians, and vegans. The results show that dietary groups differ in their perceptions and beliefs about animals, their moral emotions, their justifying beliefs and cognitive-related dissonance strategies associated with animal product consumption, and their dietary motivations. The groups that consume specific animal products (e.g., pescatarians who consume fish) versus the groups who do not consume them (e.g., vegetarians and vegans who do not consume fish) experienced moral emotions (e.g., fish-related disgust) differently, showed higher levels of justifying beliefs and cognitive dissonance strategies related to these products (e.g., denying mental capacities of fish) and showed differences in their moral thinking about animals. The findings suggest that fish, dairy, and egg consumers deal with animal product consumption in a similar way to how meat eaters deal with meat consumption. These findings highlight the importance of moving research beyond just meat consumption. Changing attitudes towards animals and countering people’s justifying beliefs and dissonance strategies appear to be critical in such efforts.

URI

https://bradscholars.brad.ac.uk/handle/10454/20673

Type

Thesis

Qualification name

PhD