The topic of alternative meat options has been gaining traction and sparking conversations across the United States. Currently, plant-based alternatives and cultured (or lab-grown) meat present the two most viable meat replacements. A team of researchers from the College of Food, Agricultural, and Environmental Sciences wanted to know: how do Ohioans feel about the prospects of purchasing and consuming non-traditional meats?
The team of six—with funding from an Ohio Agricultural Research and Development Center (OARDC) SEEDS Grants—recently surveyed both consumers and agriculturalists to assess their perceptions of meat alternatives. They wanted to examine not only how Ohioans felt about meat alternatives, but which sources of meat information they preferred to learn from, and what they planned to purchase in the future.
The researchers surveyed 1,250 Ohio consumers and 130 Ohioans who identified themselves as members of the agricultural industry or agriculturalists. The results of their survey pointed to numerous similarities and differences between the two groups, which the team encapsulated in this executive summary. For instance, both groups reported regularly purchasing traditional meat and planning on continuing to do so. Both groups also reported that farmers and nutritionists ranked in their top three preferred sources of information for learning about meat alternatives. However, consumers and agriculturalists also differed greatly in some of their opinions. More the double the amount (22.4%) of consumers reported that they currently bought plant-based meat alternatives on the regular, as compared to the 10.8% of agriculturalists who said the same. Likewise, nearly half (49.4%) of consumers said that they planned to purchase plant-based alternatives in the future, while only 16.2% of agriculturists concurred. The team explain their findings in greater detail in a series of infographics outlining the perceptions of consumers, agriculturists, and their survey sample as a whole.
Based on their findings, the researchers proposed a set of recommendations for agricultural organizations and communicators in order to help them better connect with and serve both consumers and agriculturalists. Among these included the recommendation to forge partnerships with farmers, nutritionists, and other agricultural organizations to bolster communications efforts. The team also recommended that institutions examine the discrepancies between industry preferences and consumer preferences in order to elevate existing products.
As meat alternatives become increasingly available and attitudes shift, data like this will help Ohio's agricultural sector grow and adapt.
Read the Executive Summary.
Read the Consumer handout.
Read the Agriculturalist handout.
Read the survey sample handout.