A new BYU study finds red meat carries a lot of cultural significance
Plant-Based Alternatives (PBAs) — such as the Impossible Burger — are becoming more common, and those who try them say they are actually quite good. And while companies are pouring billions into making PBAs taste just like their meat counterparts, they still aren’t catching on. So what’s the hold-up?
A new study by BYU professor Jonathan Kershaw and his colleagues finds that people avoid Impossible Burgers and other PBAs because they’re just not ready to give up what they know — a juicy meat patty at a summer barbecue.
“Meat has a lot of cultural significance,” Kershaw said. “Would you serve a plant-based burger at a barbecue? People might question: ‘What are you serving this for?’”
Kershaw’s team surveyed adults in the US about their food preferences regarding PBAs. Participants were provided the image and ingredients for both the PBAs and the meat they imitate and asked how likely they were to buy the PBA. While the survey confirmed that taste was one of the driving factors of PBA avoidance, it also identified personal and cultural value as key reasons why people avoid PBAs.
In other words, since food is a crucial component of most social gatherings, many consumers worry about PBAs because they are often seen as unconventional. Eating a burger is seen as normal, but eating an Impossible Burger isn’t yet.
“Meat is a way to share with friends,” Kershaw said. “They may see it as a part of who they are as a person, as a family, or as a community; it matters.”
The study found that men and those with lower levels of educational attainment are more likely to buy red meat over the PBA counterpart. For other people, PBAs’ classification as ultra-processed tends to scare them off. Kershaw points out that while PBAs have undergone processing, many meats that end up at the store have also been processed; PBAs are not inherently any less healthy than the meat burgers they replace.
However, Kershaw found that consumers don’t compare Beyond Burgers or Impossible Burgers to meat. Rather, they view PBAs as a separate food group — and an unnatural one at that.
When participants described PBAs as “unnatural,” it was even more damaging than “bland” when it came to purchase intention; the biggest barrier to adopting plant-based foods is not people’s taste buds — it’s their brain. According to Kershaw, companies need to dedicate energy to changing the stigma, not just the savor.
The reason this matters is that PBAs were initially designed to lower the environmental impact of food production.
“From an efficiency standpoint, we grow a lot of food to feed animals, and then we eat the animals,” Kershaw said. “So, if we take the animal out of the process, we avoid the loss of resources that happens along the way.”
Likewise, a decreased need for livestock would result in lower greenhouse gas emissions, increased water and energy efficiency, and less land use.
“There are lots of factors that influence how you eat, but if it fits your diet, it will probably be better for you and the environment if you don't eat beef as often,” Kershaw said.
