Meat Reduction in 5 to 8 Years Old Children—A Survey to Investigate the Role of Parental Meat Attachment

Abstract

It is by now well established that a plant-based and meatless or reduced-meat diet is an important contribution to a sustainability and healthy diet. This work discusses important determinants for parents of implementing a meat reduced diet for their children. A questionnaire was conducted with 90 parents of children aged 5–8 years living in Germany, where they had to choose one out of three options of a dish, namely meaty, reduced meat and no meat, for their child. The results show that the parent’s attachment to meat and the associated attitudes and habits play a crucial role in their meal choice and therefore eating behaviour, including consumed amounts of meat, of their child. Moreover, perceived tastiness, healthiness and balanced serving style, as well as the child’s preferences influences the parent’s decision. The findings of this work provide valuable insights to the food industry and food producers, health professionals and public health, as it highlights the background, as well as some drivers and barriers for parents choosing a dish with less meat for their children.

Millennials’ Consumption of and Attitudes toward Meat and Plant-Based Meat Alternatives by Consumer Segment in Finland

“…While there is no widely accepted definition of millennials, they are often considered to be people who reached adulthood during the early 21st century, that is, the people who were born during the 1980s and 1990s [37]. Millennials also represent an important consumer group because many are presently the parents of young children, and the parents' role is essential in terms of mediating the food consumption habits of their children [38].…”

Is Eating Less Meat Possible? Exploring the Willingness to Reduce Meat Consumption among Millennials Working in Polish Cities

“…Making lifechanging decisions that impact their lives for many years ahead is very common in this age group and may result in change of a lifecycle stage, which influences the attitudes towards food [71]. With the arrival of a child, the household acquires eating habits that solidify and shape the child's habits and parents' attachment to meat was shown to be crucial in a meal choice for a child [50]. In our study, meat consumption grew as the household expanded.…”

“…Across samples, a four-factor solution (i.e., hedonism, affinity, entitlement, and dependence) with 16 items and a second-order global dimension of meat attachment fully met criteria for good model fit. MAQ has been used in different studies, e.g., exploring New Zealand consumers' motivations and attitudes to meat consumption [47], measuring the meat paradox among Australians [48], investigating German consumers' preferences for meat and plant-protein blends products [49] and parental meat attachment and meat reduction in children's diets [50].…”

Substituting meat and the role of a situational context: exploring associations and motives of Dutch meat substitute-users

“…The obtained results are of importance for the understanding of consumer acceptance of meat substitutes and can direct food companies in their development of new meat substitutes. For policymakers, the nutritional and environmental aspects of meat and meat substitutes could be further researched and communicated to consumers (Santo et al, 2020), and there is a role in the education of children to get them acquainted with meat alternatives since the parents' attitudes and attachment to meat seem to play a crucial role in children's meal choice (Erhardt and Olsen, 2021).…”