Consumption Corridors and the Case of Meat

Abstract

Consumer policy must address the unsustainability of consumption which now threatens consumer safety in the form of the climate and ecological crises. Arguably, only strong sustainable consumption governance methods can bring about changes at the scale and speed required. This article discusses one emerging policy tool within strong governance, namely consumption corridors which could bring about absolute reductions in the negative impacts of consumption in a just manner and using deliberative democracy. Consumption corridors are applied in the context of the current meat system, a common driver for the twin crises, and an issue central to achieving the sustainable development, biodiversity, and Paris climate goals. The recently developed planetary health diet offers a useful plan for the transformation of global food systems, and could be combined with sustainable consumption corridors for meat. Systems thinking identifies change in societal paradigms as most effective. To support such change, this article suggests two metaphors as discourse tools, whereby individual and societal transformation in meat consumption occurs as a journey along a continuum of different meatways. The article also suggests specific actions for bringing about meat consumption corridors, and argues that this context could also serve as a bridge for increased societal acceptance of recomposed consumption.

Consumer acceptability of plant-, seaweed-, and insect-based foods as alternatives to meat: a critical compilation of a decade of research

“…A transition to consider meat alternatives offers new interest on vegetables and grains (Holm & Møhl, 2000). Several studies reported meat reducers (flexitarian and plantarian) and meat avoiders (vegetarians and vegans) (Kanerva, 2013;Possidónio et al, 2021). For example, 37% of consumers in Finland consume beef, and there are no consumptions of insect-or plantbased protein products (Niva & Vainio, 2021).…”

Power & protein—closing the ‘justice gap’ for food system transformation

“…The optimal space should allow 'everybody to satisfy their needs without compromising others' ability to meet their own' [211, p 1]. Consumption corridors are typically negotiated using deliberative democracy processes [211,212]. They offer potential as strong governance tools that can place caps on consumption that can 'bring about absolute reductions in the negative impacts of consumption in a just manner' [212, p 619].…”

The elephant in the room is really a cow: using consumption corridors to define sustainable meat consumption in the European Union

“…Consumption corridors (CCs) constitute an innovative approach that is gaining traction in the literature on sustainable consumption governance (Fuchs 2020;Fuchs et al 2021;Sahakian et al 2021). At the general conceptual level, Kanerva (2022) introduces the idea of using CCs for the case of meat.…”

“…At the individual level, meat consumption is not just a satisfier for nutrition but also fulfills other needs such as identity or social belonging (Kanerva 2022;Nguyen and Platow 2021). Including such considerations when defining the floor of the meat CC would make the calculations far more complex.…”