Committed to the responsible development of meat replacement products and practices

Reducing meat consumption is one of the key levers identified by Norwegian and international policies for reducing agricultural climate emissions in Europe. One way to facilitate such a transition are meat alternatives, such as plant- or insect-based substitutes, which have lower climate impacts, but also technologically cutting-edge cultivated meats. But are people in Europe ready to include alternative proteins in their diets? Food is not just calories and CO2 emissions: It is culture. The comMEATted project explores meat and meat replacement as social-cultural dietary transitions in Austria, France, Ireland, Norway and Romania. It ambitions to build knowledge to facilitate a transition towards the responsible production, provision and consumption of novel meat replacements in Europe, and innovates by considering consumer choices in their social contexts. Going beyond isolated consumer studies, comMEATted explores how societal, cultural, regulatory, economic, psychological, and ethical, religious or ideological, grounds can shape meat replacement practices in Europe. We thereby map a range of levers that may facilitate a transition to support making, selling, cooking and eating healthy alternative proteins in Europe. comMEATted engages a range of stakeholders in the food system, building more knowledge on narratives and discourses around meat-alternatives emerging from: the food Industry, the agricultural sector, consumers’ associations, scientists, religious and ethical communities, the Media, domestic and EU regulatory governance, discourses on labelling as well as on consumers’ perceived science- or nutrition-based knowledge and attitudes towards novel meat replacing foods. By offering a comparison between national contexts, comMEATted informs national and European stakeholders, and in particular policy-makers in Europe. A transition towards meat-reducing diets can happen in multiple ways: comMEATted explores to what extent (new) meats would be part of it.

This project aims at answering the following question: Under which conditions are European consumers and stakeholders in five national contexts (Austria, France, Ireland, Norway and Romania) ready to opt for diets that include alternative proteins (cell-based, plant-based and insect-based meat)? It thus ambitions to build knowledge to facilitate a transition towards the responsible production, provision and consumption of novel meat replacements in Europe. Our project innovates by considering consumer choices in context: social, cultural, regulatory, economic, psychological and ethical, religious or ideological grounds because of complex food practices in Europe. Our objective is to thereby map a range of levers that may facilitate a transition to producing, making, selling, cooking and eating healthy alternative proteins in Europe. This proposal includes exploratory research engaging end-users: consumers but also all stakeholders in the food system. It also aims at building more knowledge on narratives and discourses around meat-alternatives promoted by stakeholders in various national contexts (the food Industry, the agricultural sector, consumers’ associations, scientists, religious and ethical communities, the Media), on the domestic and EU regulatory governance, on labelling as well as on consumers’ attitudes towards novel foods (considering their current food regime, trust in institutions and innovations, beliefs and values, psychological and other determinants). By offering a comparison between national contexts, it will better inform national and European stakeholders, in particular policy-makers. The consortium’s strength results from a strong and pluridisciplinary collaboration between partners from the five national contexts with socio-professional actors sitting on an advisory board.