Framing the futures of animal-free dairy: Using focus groups to explore early-adopter perceptions of the precision fermentation process

Abstract

This paper reports on the findings from a series of virtual focus groups that explored consumer perceptions of animal-free dairy (AFD), an emerging type of animal product alternative produced using the tools of synthetic biology and precision fermentation. Focus group participants came from an international sample of potential “early adopters.” To stimulate conversation, participants were presented with a series of visual “moodboards” that framed key arguments both in favor of and in opposition to AFD. Three primary thematic clusters emerged from the discussion. The first focused on issues of “process, safety, and regulation,” centered on the general reaction of participants to the concept of AFD, their primary concerns, key questions, and the assurances they would need in order to support its advancement. The second focused on issues of “consumer preferences and priorities,” highlighted by the often complicated, and sometimes outright contradictory, stated consumer interests of the participants. The third focused on issues of “food technology and the future,” wherein participants expressed broader views on the role of food technology in society, generally speaking, and the potential futures of AFD, specifically. The general consensus among participants was a cautious openness to the idea of AFD. Outright opposition to the concept was rare, but so too was unabashed enthusiasm. Instead, respondents had a number of questions about the nature of the technological process, its overall safety and regulatory standards, its potential contributions to individual health and climate change mitigation, as well as its organoleptic qualities and price to consumers. Among the positive frames, claims about animal welfare were deemed the most pertinent and convincing. Among the negative frames, concerns about messing with nature and creating potential health risks to individuals were seen as the strongest arguments against AFD. The findings suggest that the key to AFD's future as a viable market option will depend in large part on the extent to which it can clearly demonstrate that it is preferable to conventional dairy or its plant-based competitors, particularly in the arena of taste, but also across considerations of health and safety, nutrition, environmental effects, and animal well-being.

Perceptions and acceptance of yeast-derived dairy in British Columbia, Canada

“…Further research on this topic may need to go to greater lengths to explain the process as part of engaging with study participants and to account for bias. Similar to the findings from Broad et al (2022) the results from this pilot study suggests that any company wishing to sell this product in British Columbia, and likely other areas as well, will have to do extensive marketing and education campaigns to not only inform consumers of what it is, but also to inform consumers about its safety for those with allergies and other dietary restrictions. While our research provides data linking demographic characteristics to perceptions of and willingness to try, it also indicates this data may be shaped by perceptions of cellular agriculture that do not align with the framing of the YDD production process by the industry.…”

“…Although consumers are already able to enjoy "milk without the moo" (Pandya, 2014), little is known about consumer perceptions and acceptance of this food, particularly among the food-interested public and vegans, of which the latter are often regarded as a key demographic for this novel food (Mendly-Zambo et al, 2021). A 2018 market research study in Great Britain led by a private sector firm gave some insights into consumer interest in YDD (Perkins, 2018), and a study based on focus group conducted in 2021 with 42 participants across Germany, the United States, and Singapore was published as this article was in the late stages of preparation (Broad et al, 2022). Additional research is needed, particularly in regions like Canada, not covered by these studies.…”

“…Numerous consumer perception and acceptance studies on cellular agriculture have been conducted worldwide (for review see Barnett, 2018, 2020); to date, however, these studies have focused primarily on cultured meat production, save for Perkins (2018) and Broad et al (2022) discussed in Section 1.1. Although yeast-derived dairy and cultured meat have different production processes, they are both foods which are biologically equivalent to animal products and stem from cellular agriculture technologies.…”

Understanding the (Fake) Meat Debates

“…Elsewhere, in just the last few years, the emerging science and industry of cellular agriculture have developed with the goal to use the tools of synthetic biology and tissue engineering to create products that are molecularly identical to conventional animal proteins, but without the need to raise and slaughter animals at all. One approach to cellular agriculture creates animal-free dairy products by using precision fermentation to genetically engineer microbes that produce milk proteins; animal-free dairy products are approved for sale in the United States and are available on a limited basis 6 . Another approach to cellular agricultures creates cultivated meat products (also referred to as cell-cultured or laboratory-grown meat, among other monikers) by acquiring animal stem cells, growing them in a bioreactor environment, and eventually harvesting and assembling them into a meat analog product.…”

“…One approach to cellular agriculture creates animal-free dairy products by using precision fermentation to genetically engineer microbes that produce milk proteins; animal-free dairy products are approved for sale in the United States and are available on a limited basis. 6 Another approach to cellular agricultures creates cultivated meat products (also referred to as cell-cultured or laboratory-grown meat, among other monikers) by acquiring animal stem cells, growing them in a bioreactor environment, and eventually harvesting and assembling them into a meat analog product. Cultivated meat is in the process of advancing through regulatory approval in the United States, although significant technological and consumer-oriented hurdles remain before they are widely available.…”