PLANTS: A scalable survey tool for identifying groups willing to adopt plant-based diets

Abstract

Adoption of plant-based diets is one of the most impactful ways individuals can reduce carbon emissions, helping to mitigate climate change. People attach different degrees of importance to the attributes of their food, such as taste, environmental impact, and health considerations. Identifying key motivators and barriers to adopting plant-based diets, and how these differ among different groups, can inform campaigns to increase plant-based diets. Here, we identify three consumer groups using a nationally representative survey in the United States: Motivated, Health-conscious, and Uninterested. The groups significantly differ in their willingness to incorporate plant-based foods in their diet. Members of the Motivated group are strongly motivated by health, environmental, and ethical considerations, members of the Health-conscious are primarily motivated by health, and members of the Uninterested are not motivated to eat plant-based foods. We provide a four-question survey that can be used to identify these groups and empirically evaluate communication campaigns.