This article aims to critically examine cultural discourses in food marketing from the perspective of mundane food practices and contested meat consumption. In conceptualising normativity and sociocultural contestations of consumption in practice-level performances, less attention has been paid to legitimations of (un)sustainable consumption, such as meat consumption, in marketing discourses. We take inspiration from the concept of teleoaffective formations – particularly that of promotional sustainable consumption – and adopt a critical discourse analysis method to analyse the food marketing content of Finnish grocery retailers. Our findings exemplify discursive tensions between normative ideas of food practices (effectiveness, healthiness and environmental friendliness) and practice reproduction and change. Our analysis uncovers how practices are utilised as arenas for contradictory, parallel legitimations: meat is justified as a convenient means in the fight against busy everyday life, while the shift towards ideal, reduced meat consumption is promoted. Additionally, the findings illustrate responsibilisation of the consumer as both a morally and practically conscious actor concerned about food sustainability and caring for the family. The study exemplifies how analysing discursive consumption legitimation by marketers reveals power issues in consumer culture in practice theoretical terms and elucidates sociocultural conditions for sustainability shifts in normative consumption. This article thus responds to the calls for approaching consumption in practices from a cultural and critical perspective and for extending research to the commercial sphere.

Weckroth, K., & Sutinen, U.-M. (2025). Eat healthy, save the planet, but let minced meat save you! Marketing discourses, food practices and meat consumption legitimation. Consumption and Society, 1–20. https://doi.org/10.1332/27528499Y2024D000000045 

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This study used Explainable Artificial Intelligence (XAI) with SHapley Additive exPlanations (SHAP) to examine dietary and lifestyle habits in the Spanish population and identify key diet predictors. A cross-sectional design was used, employing the validated NutSo-HH scale to gather data on nutrition, lifestyle, and socio-demographic factors. The CatBoost method combined with SHAP was applied. The sample included 22,181 Spanish adults: 17,573 followed the Mediterranean diet, 1425 were vegetarians, 365 were vegans, and 1018 practiced intermittent fasting. Fish consumption was the strongest dietary indicator, with vegans abstaining and some vegetarians consuming it occasionally. Age influenced diet: younger individuals preferred vegan/vegetarian diets, while older adults adhered to the Mediterranean diet. Vegans and vegetarians consumed less junk food, and intermittent fasters were more physically active. The model effectively predicts the Mediterranean diet but struggles with others due to sample imbalance, highlighting the need for larger studies on plant-based and intermittent fasting diets.

Sandri, E., Cerdá Olmedo, G., Piredda, M., Werner, L. U., & Dentamaro, V. (2025). Explanatory AI predicts the diet adopted based on nutritional and lifestyle habits in the Spanish population. European Journal of Investigation in Health, Psychology and Education, 15(2), 11. https://doi.org/10.3390/ejihpe15020011 

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South Africa’s meat consumption trends reflect changing consumer behaviours influenced by economic conditions, health considerations, and cultural shifts. In recent decades, the demand for more affordable protein sources such as poultry has surged, while per capita consumption of beef and mutton decreased.

Fourie, P. (2025). Feeding the demand: Trends in meat consumption. AFMA Matrix, 34(1). https://journals.co.za/doi/abs/10.10520/ejc-vp_afma_v34_n1_a3 

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Meat production is proving problematic because of its substantial impact in terms of resource consumption and greenhouse emissions. It has been suggested that, to meet sustainability goals, there should be a shift toward primarily plant-based diets, which are also considered healthy and ethical. However, despite these benefits, some resistance prevents it from spreading among the population. In the present study, we investigated (a) whether physical activity, which is most associated with meat intake and masculinity, could represent a barrier to plant-based choices; (b) if sedentary vs. active participants have different beliefs about plant-based choice. A qualitative study was conducted with 4 focus groups, composed according to lifestyle (active vs. sedentary) and diet (omnivorous vs vegetarian or vegan: veg*n). The thematic analysis revealed that, while veg*an groups expressed positive beliefs about plant-based protein food, omnivores (especially active ones) showed biases against them and a preference for animal-based proteins, considered tastier, higher in nutritional values, and better in supporting physical performance. Omnivore participants currently or previously experienced as competitive athletes reported that this idea was instilled and supported by coaches. In this study, bias related to masculinity were not explicitly reported. The active omnivore group was also more vocal about the pleasures of meat taste as a barrier to the transition to a plant-based choice. Other promoters and barriers to plant-based diets emerged and will be discussed in light of previous literature with the aim of building an empirical framework to guide future interventions that promote healthier food choices.

Vanutelli, M. E., Adorni, R., Cambieri, V. C., D’Addario, M., & Steca, P. (2025). “If I didn’t do sports, I would definitely eat less meat”. Physical activity: Enemy or ally for healthier food choices? https://doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.5103855 

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Intensive duck farming has become popular. Regarding this trend, it is foreseeable that the density of animal breeding will increase, which may lead to animal welfare problems. Moreover, there is concern regarding the spread of avian influenza through duck-raising farms with a high density of animal breeding. Recent years have seen frequent occurrences of bird flu in Taiwan, and too high a breeding density will affect not only animal health, but human health as well. In this study, an ordered probit with a sample selection model was used to analyze the factors affecting consumers’ willingness to pay (WTP) for animal welfare duck egg products. Results revealed that perceived consumer effectiveness, consumers’ ethical perceptions and socioeconomic factors such as age, income, and education levels had impact on the decision on whether to pay a price premium for animal welfare products. For respondents that decide to pay a premium for animal welfare products, consumers’ income and age affected consumers’ price premium for animal welfare products. The results of this study show that consumers have a deep understanding of the ethical aspects of animal welfare salted duck eggs but do not pay much attention to their food safety characteristics, especially the aspect of animal welfare that can reduce drug residues. We recommended using a production method that uses a relatively lower level of salt to make salted duck eggs. This can increase the consumer demand for the product. As the frequency of consumption increases, the food safety characteristics of animal welfare salted duck eggs can then be emphasized. Using the non-parametric method, the lower bound of consumers’ WTP was estimated. The lower bound was NTD 18.7299, which was approximately 87% more than a regular salted duck egg.

Yang, Y.-C., & Wang, C.-C. (2025). The determinants of willingness to pay for improving the animal welfare of laying ducks: The case of Taiwan. International Food and Agribusiness Management Review, 1–13. https://doi.org/10.22434/ifamr1018 

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The concept of animal welfare is evolving due to progress in our scientific understanding of animal biology and changing societal expectations. Animal welfare science has been primarily concerned with minimizing suffering, but there is growing interest in also promoting positive experiences, grouped under the term positive animal welfare (PAW). However, there are discrepancies in the use of the term PAW. An interdisciplinary group arrived at a consensus that ‘PAW can be defined as the animal flourishing through the experience of predominantly positive mental states and the development of competence and resilience. PAW goes beyond ensuring good physical health and the prevention and alleviation of suffering. It encompasses animals experiencing positive mental states resulting from rewarding experiences, including having choices and opportunities to actively pursue goals and achieve desired outcomes’. The definition also considers individual and species-specific differences. It provides a framework for researchers to investigate PAW and thereby generate innovative, informative and reproducible science. Studies of PAW can contribute to a richer picture of an animal’s life and may elucidate the biological foundations of happiness. The definition creates opportunities to inspire scientific progress in animal biology and to align animal care practices, legislation and markets with societal expectations.

Rault, J.-L., Bateson, M., Boissy, A., Forkman, B., Grinde, B., Gygax, L., Harfeld, J. L., Hintze, S., Keeling, L. J., Kostal, L., Lawrence, A. B., Mendl, M. T., Miele, M., Newberry, R. C., Sandøe, P., Špinka, M., Taylor, A. H., Webb, L. E., Whalin, L., & Jensen, M. B. (2025). A consensus on the definition of positive animal welfare. Biology Letters, 21(1), 20240382. https://doi.org/10.1098/rsbl.2024.0382 

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Recent discussions in animal welfare have emphasised the importance of animal agency—the ability of animals to make choices and exert control over their environment in a way that aligns with their needs and preferences. In this paper, we discuss the importance of animal agency for welfare and examine how use of some types of animal–computer interaction can enable animals to exercise more agency in captive environments through increased choice and control, cognitive challenge, and social interactions; as well as considering some of the potential limitations of such efforts.

Browning, H., & Veit, W. (2025). Animal welfare, agency, and animal-computer interaction. Animals: An Open Access Journal from MDPI, 15(2). https://doi.org/10.3390/ani15020219 

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Animal welfare and treatment label claims are increasingly prevalent for U.S. retail table eggs. A wide inventory of claims addressing housing (e.g., cage-free, free-range, pasture-raised), exogenous substance use and feeds (e.g., no added antibiotics or hormones, vegetarian-fed), and third-party humane or comprehensive certifications (e.g., organic, United Egg Producers certified, Certified Humane, and American Humane Certified) are available to U.S. table egg consumers. Retail premiums for products bearing specialty claims are the market incentives for producers to adopt alternative production practices to meet consumer demands. Stability or consistency of premiums is essential to supporting markets for alternative production. This report examines the retail premiums, or discounts, for animal welfare and treatment claims in U.S. table eggs and assesses the dynamics of those premiums from 2008 to 2018. The report also investigates the impacts of the 2014–15 highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) outbreak and the passage of several State-level policies addressing the treatment of laying hens and the sale of eggs on the average retail premiums for animal welfare and treatment claims on table eggs sold between 2008 and 2018.

Ufe, D. (2025). Animal welfare and treatment label claims in U.S. table eggs: Trends in retail premiums and policy impacts, 2008–18. Economic Research Service, US Department of Agriculture. https://www.ers.usda.gov/publications/pub-details?pubid=110817 

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Animal welfare, often regarded as a singular and generic factor, necessitates explanatory models that reflect its multidimensional nature. This study addresses this complexity by investigating the purchasing behavior of consumers in developing countries, focusing on animal welfare-certified foods. To achieve this goal, a conceptual analytical model was developed, grounded in an extensive literature review and expert consultations. The model positions beliefs about animal welfare as the central component, with empathy for animals and knowledge of the production sector as antecedents. It also identifies beliefs about certified products, engagement, and perceived quality attributes as consequences. The methodology involved an online survey of 707 Brazilian consumers to test eight hypotheses derived from the model using structural equation modeling. The findings confirmed all hypotheses at a significance level of p ≤ 0.05, underscoring the cognitive, affective, and educational bases of consumer beliefs about animal welfare. These beliefs were shown to positively influence engagement with, and perceived quality attributes of, certified products, ultimately shaping purchase intentions. However, a negative relationship between beliefs about animal welfare and beliefs about certified products suggests skepticism among Brazilian consumers regarding certification systems. This study contributes to the literature by presenting a multidimensional model that offers both theoretical insights and practical implications for marketing strategies and certification systems, particularly in developing country contexts. This novel approach lays a foundation for future cross-cultural validations and product-specific investigations.

de Castro Júnior, S. L., Spers, E. E., da Silva, H. M. R., & da Silva, I. J. O. (2025). Antecedents of the intention to buy animal welfare certified products: A study with Brazilian consumers. International Review on Public and Nonprofit Marketing. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12208-024-00427-4 

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Citizen science activities were performed using sheep as an animal model and involving 252 students aged between 9 and 11 years. The study focused on three pillars: hill/mountain landscape biodiversity, animal welfare and the social utility of research. Two types of tests—“attitude questionnaires” (AQs) and “maximum performance tests” (MPTs)—were administered. The AQ was administered before and at the end of the project to compare the children’s sensitivity to the treated topics and to assess their awareness of the project’s pillars. For each AQ item children expressed their agreement/disagreement by choosing from five response modes. The MPT aim was to evaluate if children had understood the explained topics by true/false options in respect to a sentence. The correlations between MPT scores and school evaluations for science subjects were analyzed. Among the fifteen AQ items specific to the pillars, four items related to biodiversity, three items related to animal welfare and two items related to the social utility of research, showing a significant difference (p < 0.05) for the second AQ’s responses. Two items showed sex-related differences. The analysis of the data from the MPT showed that the didactic methodology used was effective and improved the position of most children by bringing them into higher science evaluation groups.

Moscatelli, S., Paniccià, A., Palmioli, E., Del Gobbo, L., Mercati, F., & Scocco, P. (2025). Application of citizen science to sheep as a model to sensitize young citizens to biodiversity, animal welfare and the social utility of research. Animals : An Open Access Journal from MDPI, 15(2). https://doi.org/10.3390/ani15020201 

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According to a survey among a representative sample of the Belgian population, most people believe that farmed animals like chickens have the same capacity for suffering as humans, and that most farmed land animals (broiler chickens) have negative welfare levels (i.e., experience more suffering than happiness). The suffering of a farmed land animal, estimated by people, is equal in size to the positive welfare of a human (in Belgium) whereas the welfare level of a wild bird is zero on average. As there are more farmed animals than humans in the world, and the populations of small farmed animals (chickens, fish, shrimp and insects) are increasing, most people would have to come to the conclusion that net global welfare (of humans, farmed animals and wild animals combined) is negative and declining. People who care about global welfare should therefore strongly prioritize decreasing animal farming and improving farmed animal welfare conditions.

Bruers, S. (2025). A survey on inter-animal welfare comparisons. Journal of Applied Animal Ethics Research, 1–21. https://doi.org/10.1163/25889567-bja10057 

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Cruelty-free practices involve avoidance of animal harm during production. While adopting cruelty-free practices by firms is important for sustainability, overcoming consumer indifference towards cruelty-free products is challenging. Through six studies, we show that consumer speciesism (devaluation of other species) moderates the effect of cruelty-free practices on product evaluation. Cruelty-free practices increase purchase intention among low speciesism but not among high speciesism consumers, mediated by perceived brand moral agency. The study examines how cruelty-free brands can create a win-win strategy that benefits the firm and the environment by using anthropomorphized animals in brand communications to attenuate the unfavorable effect of speciesism.

Bandopadhyay, A., Borah, S. B., Mukhopadhyay, S., & Gupta, T. (2025). Do cruelty-free practices matter?  The role of consumer speciesism in differential preference for cruelty-free products. Preprint. https://www.iima.ac.in/publicationdo-cruelty-free-practices-matter-role-consumer-speciesism-differential-preference 

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This study was performed to evaluate the effect of various environmental enrichment (EE) tools on broiler growth, welfare, behavior, carcass, and meat quality. A total of 300 commercial broilers were randomly divided into 05 treatments. The treatments include various EE tools such as perches, balls, hanging bottles, and laser lights placed for birds and a control group. The birds kept with perches and hanging bottles had the lowest feed intake, while the birds in the control group showed the poor feed conversion ratio compared to all EE treatments. Broilers raised under different EE were more active and exhibited frequent maintenance behavior (i.e., walking, jumping, running, wing flapping and aggressiveness) than the control group which spent more time in feeding and drinking. Moreover, the birds with EE had reduced incidence of toe injuries and footpad dermatitis than those in the control group. Birds reared with perches had higher meat lightness, whereas meat from the birds in the control group had lower cooking loss and shear force. It can be concluded that the use of various EE tools improved the welfare and behavior of the birds without affecting bodyweight of the birds. Furthermore, the use of hanging bottles and placing perches reduced feed intake and improved feed conversion ratio.

Ghani, A., Mehmood, S., Hussnain, F., & Saima. (2025). Effects of different environmental enrichment tools to improve behavior, welfare, and growth performance of broiler chickens. Tropical Animal Health and Production, 57(2), 33. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11250-025-04292-z 

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Climate change is an emerging global reality with widespread effects on ecosystems and human communities. However, its significant impact on livestock animals often goes underdiscussed as more focus is given to impact of livestock production on climate change. Implementing high-welfare systems, such as digital monitoring of animals, can help mitigate climate-related challenges by reducing temperature fluctuations and controlling disease spread. Despite the potential benefits, consumer acceptance of this digital innovation remains uncertain. This study examines consumer attitudes toward digitally monitored animal welfare practices, aiming to understand their acceptance and the values they associate with these practices. It investigates the role of digital technology in enhancing consumer decision-making by addressing animal welfare concerns.

Using means-end chain theory and Schwartz’s value typology, the research explores the motivational layers and product attributes tied to consumer values. Semi-structured interviews with twenty pork consumers revealed hierarchical relationships between product attributes, benefits, and values. Analysis through NVivo 14 and LadderUX software generated themes and a hierarchical value map. The findings indicate that consumers prioritise attributes such as animal diets, stress-free environments, humane processing practices, and health conditions, linking these to both ethical and hedonic values. Intrinsic attributes like product appearance and freshness are crucial for at-home consumption decisions, while sustainable packaging also plays a role. The study also found differences in consumer behaviour based on the consumption context, with ethical decision-making often shifting to restaurateurs when dining out. The research underscores the importance of transparency, ethical practices, and product quality in influencing consumer decisions, providing actionable insights for marketing strategies that promote ethical consumption and improve animal welfare standards.

Jose, H., Jackson, E. L., Duong, P., & Sung, B. (2025). Ethical food consumption in the digital age: Consumer attitudes towards digitally monitored animal welfare in pork products. Appetite, 107853. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.appet.2025.107853 

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There is a trend towards broiler production systems with higher welfare requirements, which often use a combination of factors to improve broiler welfare. This makes it difficult to entangle whether improvements are due to housing conditions, diet, genetics or a combination of these factors. Therefore, it remains unknown to what extent differences in welfare can be attributed to breed (i.e., genetics), growth rate (i.e., diet) or the interaction between the two. We compared fast- (Ross 308, R), medium- (Ranger Classic, RC) and slower-growing broilers (Hubbard JA757, H) receiving diets differing in balanced protein (BP) content (i.e., 80, 90 and 100%). We identified effects on behaviour, responses to behavioural tests and litter quality at three target body weights (TBWs, 0.2, 1.2 and 2.4 kg), and welfare scores and litter DM content at TBW 2.6 kg. The experiment had a 3 × 3 factorial design with four replicates (pens) per treatment (a total of 36 pens). We hypothesised that reducing the growth rate will improve the welfare of all breeds and that breeds will not differ in welfare if they have a comparable growth rate. Indeed, reducing the growth rate improved hock burn scores in all breeds. R broilers also had improved cleanliness scores and RC broilers improved gait scores. Reducing the growth rate increased the number of R broilers approaching a human and novel object and showing running behaviour in the free-space test, while it reduced the number of RC broilers approaching a human and showing comfort behaviour and did not affect behaviour in H broilers. In addition, litter quality was improved for R broilers (wetness and DM), while reduced for H broilers (DM) with reduced growth rate, and no effects of growth rate on litter quality were found for RC broilers. Thus, reducing growth rate (i.e., reducing BP in diets) improves welfare in all breeds, but breeds did respond differently concerning behaviour and litter quality, with more beneficial effects for fast-growing broilers compared to medium- and slower-growing broilers. Hardly any differences in behaviour, welfare scores and litter quality were found between breeds when they had a comparable growth rate (R80 vs RC100 and RC80 vs H100), except for R80 having better scores for cleanliness and gait scores (only males) and higher litter DM content compared to RC100. These findings suggest that growth rate, either through genetics or diet, is mainly determining the outcome concerning broiler welfare.

van der Eijk, J. A. J., van Harn, J., Gunnink, H., van Hattum, T., Wolthuis-Fillerup, M., Melis, S., Te Beest, D. E., & de Jong, I. C. (2025). Growth rate, either through genetics or diet, mainly determines the outcome concerning broiler welfare. Animal : An International Journal of Animal Bioscience, 19(3), 101431. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.animal.2025.101431 

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Introduction: animal welfare at slaughter, particularly the practice of pre-slaughter stunning, is essential for minimizing animal suffering and improving meat quality. While international standards promote humane slaughter, the implementation of these practices in developing countries including Ghana remains inconsistent. This study aimed to assess the knowledge, perceptions and practices related to animal welfare among slaughterhouse workers in Ghana.

Methods: a cross-sectional mixed-methods study was conducted in Ghana between August and September 2024. A structured questionnaire was administered to 45 slaughterhouse workers and semi-structured interviews were conducted with an additional 10 participants, totaling 55 respondents. Quantitative data were analyzed using descriptive statistics and chi-square tests, while qualitative data underwent thematic analysis to explore in-depth perspectives.

Results: the majority of respondents (88.8%) demonstrated awareness of the concept of animal welfare, but only 44.4% had received formal training. Although 71.1% understood pre-slaughter stunning, practical application was limited, with 55.6% never verifying if animals were properly stunned. Regional differences were evident, with the Forest/Middle Belt showing higher perceptions towards animal welfare standards and pre-slaughter stunning (p<0.05). Key barriers included religiocultural issues, inadequate equipment (53.3%) and lack of training (35.6%).

Conclusion: despite theoretical support for humane slaughter, significant gaps in training, equipment and enforcement hinder effective implementation in Ghanaian slaughterhouses. Addressing these challenges through improved infrastructure, training and regulatory oversight is critical to aligning Ghana’s practices with international standards and enhancing animal welfare at slaughter.

Awuni, E., Abiliba, D. B., Asare, D. A., Kasim, S. M., Takyi, P. N., & Emikpe, B. O. (2025). Insights into animal welfare at slaughter: perceptions, knowledge and practices among slaughterhouse workers in Ghana. PAMJ – One Health, 16. https://doi.org/10.11604/pamj-oh.2025.16.4.45612 

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This chapter reviews the most common anesthetic techniques for metazoan taxa, with a focus on invertebrates species most frequently under human care as well as a review of acceptable euthanasia methods. Invertebrates are subjects of in situ and ex situ research, are kept as pets, and are common display animals in public aquaria. The influence and elevated awareness of animal welfare and shifting public opinion have resulted in increased consideration for the welfare of invertebrate animals. There is a lack of evidence-based information on anesthetic monitoring of invertebrates. The use of analgesic agents in invertebrate species has its own limitations since very few reports document the administration and dosing of analgesic agents, especially very small species. The most commonly used methods for euthanasia are terminal anesthesia followed by physical destruction of the nervous system. Specific euthanasia methods and techniques used can be adjusted for sample analyses and research goals.

Wahltinez, S. J., Harms, C. A., & Lewbart, G. A. (2025). Invertebrates. In G. West, D. Heard, & N. Caulkett (Eds.), Zoo animal and wildlife immobilization and anesthesia (pp. 139–165). Wiley. https://doi.org/10.1002/9781119539278.ch6 

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Pain is an aversive subjective experience that is consciously experienced as unpleasant. Causing unnecessary pain to animals is ethically wrong because pain is intrinsically aversive. Trillions of insects are used, harmed and killed per year, but they are excluded from animal welfare legislation because they have not yet been tested for their capacity for pain. Therefore, the evaluation of whether insects can feel pain is a necessity. This case describes potential ways to measure pain in an animal for which there is currently little or no published research about which behaviours might indicate pain.

Gibbons, M. (2025). Measuring pain in insects. Animal Behaviour and Welfare Cases. https://doi.org/10.1079/abwcases.2025.0003 

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The increasing level of poultry meat production, the lack of human workforce, and the rapid development of information technology have led to the application of precision livestock farming (PLF) systems in the poultry sector, as in other livestock sectors. PLF tools provide continuous, real-time, accurate, and non-invasive data acquisition regarding environmental and production parameters, animal health and behaviour. PLF technologies include sensors, cameras, and microphones for data collection, as well as networks, software, and computer systems for data processing and analysis. Most precision tools focus on some parameters or a group of parameters which are closely related and only a few provides a more complex view (i.e. multi-purpose robots). Besides the advantages, limitations of the systems should also be considered before the application. Limitations include technical failures and breakdowns, pathogen transmission, problems with the reliability of results, the reduction of human-animal contacts and animal welfare. Combination of the accessible technologies of different purposes should be applied on each farm to provide a complete, reliable technological background for farming. Tools should be connected to enable communication with each other and create a complex, reliable, precise background for farming. This also facilitates management decisions and the treatment of so-called “Big Data”

Brassó, L. D., Komlósi, I., & Várszegi, Z. (2025). Modern technologies for improving broiler production and welfare: A review. https://doi.org/10.20944/preprints202501.1214.v1 

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The increasing use of technology in livestock farming has the potential for making farming easier and more efficient and for improving animal welfare. There are also, however, potential dangers, one of which is that animal welfare becomes subordinated to the drive for greater efficiency. I will argue that for technology to deliver on its promise of being able to improve the lives of animals, three conditions need to be met: (i) Both the public and the agricultural industry must be satisfied that automated measures of welfare can capture what is meant by ‘good welfare’ (ii) There is scientific evidence that the technology genuinely improves animal welfare when deployed on commercial farms (iii) There are demonstrable financial, environmental and other benefits as well as welfare ones so that industry is convinced that prioritizing welfare is commercially worthwhile.

Dawkins, M. S. (2025). Smart farming and Artificial Intelligence (AI): How can we ensure that animal welfare is a priority? Applied Animal Behaviour Science, 283, 106519. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.applanim.2025.106519 

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This review focuses on opportunities and challenges of future AI developments in veterinary medicine, from the perspective of computer science researchers in developing AI systems for animal behavior analysis. We examine the paradigms of supervised learning, self-supervised learning, and foundation models, highlighting their applications and limitations in automating animal behavior analysis. These emerging technologies present future challenges in data, modeling, and evaluation in veterinary medicine. To address this, we advocate for a collaborative approach that integrates the expertise of AI researchers, veterinary professionals, and other stakeholders to navigate the evolving landscape of AI in veterinary medicine. Through cross-domain dialogue and an emphasis on human and animal well-being, we can shape AI development to advance veterinary practice for the benefit of all.

Sun, J. J. (2025). Toward collaborative artificial intelligence development for animal well-being. Journal of the American Veterinary Medical Association, 1–8. https://doi.org/10.2460/javma.24.10.0650 

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The European Union regulatory framework for the welfare of aquatic organisms (AOW), live seafood (LSW) and live crustaceans intended for human consumption (LCW) is still in its nascent stages. Member States have tackled the subject with different regulatory approach, represented in Italy, by municipal regulations. The present study was designed to provide an overview of the municipal regulations pertaining to AOW, LSW, and LCW issued in Italy to date. A search was conducted on Google from December 2023 to March 2024 using specific keywords. The analysis of the regulations entailed the scrutiny of provisions concerning AOW and LSW during transport, maintenance, display and, additionally, LCW during stunning and slaughter. A total of 771 municipal regulations on animal welfare issued from 2001 to 2023 were collected. A total of 542 provisions concerning AOW were identified, while 234 and 181 provisions also addressed LSW and LCW, respectively. As regards LCW, specific regulations included the prohibition of the claws banding (85.1%), slaughter prior to sale (59.1%), and boiling of live crustaceans (33.1%). Conversely, the obligation to slaughter before sale (12.1%), after stunning (10.5%) and out of sight of the consumer (5%) were reported. The divergent and generally not scientifically-based nature of the regulations suggests limitations of the Italian approach in AOW, LSW and LCW management. In anticipation of the risk assessment-based revision of EU legislation on AOW, the results provide an updated basis for the drafting of national technical guidelines, including species-specific control checklists, for the monitoring of LCW along the entire supply chain.

Tinacci, L., Rota Nodari, S., Vitali, A., Liuzzo, G., Corti, I., & Armani, A. (2025). Analysis of the Italian regulatory framework on the welfare of aquatic organisms, with a focus on live crustaceans. Food Policy, 131, 102814. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.foodpol.2025.102814 

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Aquaculture sustainability and profit is highly dependent on good welfare for farmed fish including the economically important species Atlantic salmon (Salmo salar). Welfare is closely linked to stress, as prolonged stressful farming conditions can translate into reduced performance and health. Understanding how Atlantic salmon responds to aquaculture-related stressors has for the past years been a key focus area of research. Present review evaluates the current state of the art by assessing a defined panel of 13 recent articles on the topic. Particular attention is paid to methodological approaches and challenges in investigating chronic stress effects. Stress experiments are performed in profoundly different ways based on scientific interest, and applied stressors range from environmental challenges, for example water quality, to management-related practices and dietary stress. We show that majority of studies are limited to analysis at the transcriptional level. Quantitative reverse transcription PCR (RT-qPCR) is the dominating technology, followed by microarray assays. Post-translational studies are rare, and correlations between changes in transcript expressions and protein levels are generally not explored. We encourage future research to address this knowledge gap, as insight on proteome status may unravel more long-standing physiological mechanisms towards stress, for example tertiary effects, that can only be postulated by transcriptional analyses. Attention should also be paid to regulatory mechanisms operating on pre- and post-translational levels, for example microRNAs, which may be affected by environmental challenges and play roles in modifying stress responses.

Hoem, K. S., & Tveten, A. (2020). Current approaches in decoding the molecular mechanisms of long‐term stress in adult farmed Atlantic salmon (Salmo salar). Reviews in Aquaculture, 12(3), 1708–1720. https://doi.org/10.1111/raq.12405 

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Aquaculture production has grown significantly, accounting for 51 % of global aquatic animal production by volume as of 2020. However, concerns over the environmental impact of intensive aquaculture have driven the sector to explore sustainable alternatives, including organic aquaculture. In response, the EU introduced Regulation 848/2018 on organic production, which came into force on 1 January 2022. This regulation promotes practices that prioritize animal welfare, use organic feed, and focus on sustainability. Against this background, this study examined Spanish consumers’ preferences for organic aquaculture fish, specifically sea bass. A semi-structured questionnaire was administered to 1300 Spanish consumers via the Qualtrics© consumer panel to assess their perceptions, knowledge, trust, preferred characteristics, and willingness to pay (WTP) for organic aquaculture products. Binary logistic regression was employed to analyze the influence of socioeconomic and attitudinal factors on WTP. The findings revealed that family, friends, and consumer associations are the most trusted sources of information. While Spanish consumers exhibited low subjective knowledge, their objective knowledge of aquaculture was moderate. Despite moderate anthropocentric views, environmental attitudes were largely ecocentric. Consumers perceive organic aquaculture to be healthier, more environmentally friendly, and of higher quality than conventional alternatives, with a WTP that is 25 % higher for organic fish. Older consumers with greater financial stability, a higher level of subjective knowledge, and stronger anthropocentric attitudes are more likely to pay a premium. Key factors influencing WTP include price, origin, freshness, and harvesting method. These insights provide valuable guidance for policymakers and marketers aiming to expand organic sea bass production in Spain and Europe.

Mustapa, M. A. C., Baba, Y., Kallas, Z., Garcia, M. B., Gonzalez, C. E., & López-Mas, L. (2025). Consumers’ attitudes toward and willingness to pay for organic aquaculture products: Evidence from Spain. Aquaculture, 599, 742126. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.aquaculture.2025.742126 

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Increasing consideration of welfare in aquaculture has prompted interest in non-invasive methods of monitoring that avoid unnecessary stress and handling. Machine vision (MV) provides a potential solution to these needs, as it can be used for non-invasive monitoring of animal health and welfare in real-time. We examined the practical applications of MV for welfare monitoring in aquaculture, the hardware and algorithms used for automated data collection, and the main challenges and solutions for data processing and analysis. The most common application of MV has been the estimation of size-related metrics (growth, biomass) in fish, but key aspects of welfare, such as monitoring of parasites and disease or detection of stress-related behaviours, are lagging behind. Numerous camera setups have been used, ranging from single to stereoscopic cameras and from emersed to submerged cameras, but these have often been used under optimal conditions that may not always reflect those prevalent in industry (high densities, low visibility), likely overestimating performance. Object detection algorithms, such as YOLO, have been the approach of choice for most MV applications in aquaculture, but our review has identified an increasing number of alternatives that can help circumvent some of the challenges posed by high densities and poor lighting typical of commercial farms. MV has the potential to transform welfare monitoring in aquaculture, but there are still important challenges that need to be overcome before it can become mainstream, namely the ability to detect ectoparasites and diseases, identify abnormal behaviours, and work across taxa, particularly in crustaceans.

Fitzgerald, A., Ioannou, C. C., Consuegra, S., Dowsey, A., & Garcia de Leaniz, C. (2025). Machine vision applications for welfare monitoring in aquaculture: challenges and opportunities. Aquaculture, Fish and Fisheries, 5(1). https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1002/aff2.70036 

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de Leaniz, C. G., & Planellas, S. R. (2025). Tilapia welfare. In K. Thompson, C. A. Shoemaker, & D. C. Little (Eds.), Tilapia: aquaculture, biology and health management (pp. 323–377). CABI. https://doi.org/10.1079/9781800629455.0008 

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Internet use is widely studied as an important socio-economic factor influencing agricultural productivity, income, the adoption of sustainable agricultural practices, and farmer welfare, but scant attention is given to its influence on sustainable food consumption. Using longitudinal data from the China Health and Nutrition Survey (CHNS), this study seeks to better understand the causal effect of Internet use on sustainable food consumption measured by food carbon and food water footprints and shed light on its underlying channels. The instrumental variable estimation is used to solve the endogeneity problem of Internet use and the propensity score matching (PSM) method is used for robustness check. The results show that Internet use significantly decreases food carbon and food water footprints by 18.1 % and 10.6 %, respectively. Internet use promotes the development of sustainable food consumption mainly by reducing the consumption of animal-based food such as pork and eggs. Further heterogeneity analysis results indicate that Internet use mainly affects the sustainable food consumption of young and high-income individuals. Policy implications for reducing food carbon and food water footprints and achieving a win-win situation for consumption and the environment are also discussed.

Liu, J., Ren, Y., Hong, Y., Glauben, T., & Li, Q. (2025). Does Internet use help to achieve sustainable food consumption? Evidence from rural China. Sustainable Futures, 9, 100466. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.sftr.2025.100466 

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Introduction: Unsustainable and unhealthy food consumption is contributing significantly to the global greenhouse gases and leads to severe health problems. The largest contributors are consumers in high-income countries, such as Denmark, with large shares of meat and high amounts of food waste.

Methods: Taking Copenhagen (the capital) as a case, we aim to explore more sustainable and healthier dietary behaviours based on the organic food share in combination with dietary composition, food waste and attitudes towards change. This mixed-method study used quantitative data from an anonymous online survey and qualitative data from semi-structured interviews. For statistical analysis, 279 adult survey participants were divided into three subgroups; “low”– with up to 25% organic food share, “medium”– 26-75% organic food share and “high”– 76-100% organic food share.

Results: This study found significant differences of food intake between the subgroups for fruits & vegetables, legumes, nuts, whole grain cereals and meat. In those food categories, the share of respondents complying with the official dietary recommendations was higher for the “high” and “medium” than for the “low” organic subgroup. At the level of public procurement, meat was reduced to provide “a room for economic manoeuvre” due to higher organic price premiums. In conclusion, in Copenhagen we observed that an increased share of organic food comes along with other sustainable dietary behaviour, both at household and public kitchen level.

Discussion: Households appear motivated by societal momentum toward more sustainable diets. The public food procurement has largely been driven by politically determined goals. Further studies are needed to better understand how food systems can support the adoption of healthier, more sustainable diets — emphasizing increased plant-based foods and reduced food waste.

Matthiessen, L. E., Smed, S., Jensen, J. D., Średnicka-Tober, D., Rossi, L., & Bügel, S. G. (2025). Eating green in Copenhagen: Organic consumers’ path to less meat and minimal food waste. Frontiers in Sustainable Food Systems, 9. https://doi.org/10.3389/fsufs.2025.1534068 

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Shifting to dietary patterns rich in plants and low in animal-source foods could substantially lower emissions from the food sector while reducing the global burden of non-communicable diseases. The EAT–Lancet Commission proposed the planetary health diet (PHD) to emphasise plant-forward diets and set global targets to guide an urgently needed food-system transformation. However, the PHD’s meat-reduction approach has attracted criticism and prompted debate on the potential micronutrient shortfalls of the plant-forward dietary approach. Since the planet simply cannot sustain human diets defaulting towards animal-based solutions, the objective of this Viewpoint is to provide recommendations that address the shortfalls of the PHD, with an emphasis on plant-based sourcing of food. Using a socioecological approach, along with an Integrative Sustainability Framework to evaluate dietary guidelines, in this Viewpoint we recommend seven key thematic areas for further development of the PHD. These themes relate to the bioavailability of micronutrients from plant-based foods, the inclusion of indigenous foods and practices, fortification and supplementation, cultural inclusiveness, and gender-based differences, a broader perspective on processed foods, and strengthening the concept by integrating the One Health approach.

Klapp, A.-L., Wyma, N., Alessandrini, R., Ndinda, C., Perez-Cueto, A., & Risius, A. (2025). Recommendations to address the shortfalls of the EAT-Lancet planetary health diet from a plant-forward perspective. The Lancet. Planetary Health, 9(1), e23–e33. https://doi.org/10.1016/S2542-5196(24)00305-X 

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This series of five policy briefs draws on research conducted by South African and United Kingdom- based researchers within the SHEFS consortium. The series seeks to encourage policy makers working on the commercial broiler chicken system in South Africa to adopt a broad systems-based perspective in their work. This brief highlights the system’s impact on the environment, and its vulnerability to climate change.

Queenan, K., Cuevas Garcia-Dorado, S., Mabhaudhi, T., Slotow, R., & Haesler, B. (2023). Scratching beneath the surface: The commercial broiler system’s climate change vulnerability, and its hidden impacts on the environment. Zenodo. https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.14355354 

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Humanity is facing an important existential threat—irreversible climate change caused by human activity. Until recently, most of the proposals to address climate change have downplayed or ignored the adverse impact of food systems, especially intensive animal agriculture. This is in spite of the fact that up to a third of global greenhouse gas production to date can be attributed to animal agriculture. Recent developments at COP28 have signaled that the tide is turning, however, and that food systems are becoming part of global discussions on climate change solutions. The pressing nature of irreversible climate change requires rethinking our food systems. To solve the climate change crisis, we propose transitioning to a predominantly plant-based diet, and phasing out intensive animal agriculture as diets shift, without increasing pastoral farming. We suggest that such transformations in global food systems can be accomplished largely through education and large-scale public information campaigns, removal of subsidies, taxation to account for externalized costs of animal agriculture, improved labelling of products, and various investment/divestment drivers. Better metrics and industry benchmarks involving food and agriculture-specific performance indicators that reflect food system sustainability will be important. Increased global awareness of these issues and a change in mindset (which will drive political will) also are needed. Our current trajectory is untenable, and we must begin to turn the ship now towards sustainable food systems and diets.

Feigin, S. V., Wiebers, D. O., Blumstein, D. T., Knight, A., Eshel, G., Lueddeke, G., Kopnina, H., Feigin, V. L., Morand, S., Lee, K., Brainin, M., Shackelford, T. K., Alexander, S. M., Marcum, J., Merskin, D., Skerratt, L. F., Van Kleef, G. A., Whitfort, A., Freeman, C. P., & Winkler, A. S. (2025). Solving climate change requires changing our food systems. Oxford Open Climate Change, 5(1). https://doi.org/10.1093/oxfclm/kgae024 

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Increased consumer concern about environmental issues has led to a surge in green advertising, including misleading forms known as greenwashing. Definitions of greenwashing have mostly focused on companies misleading consumers about products, and existing empirical analyses of greenwashing effects have mostly used fabricated ad materials referring to fictitious products. The objective of the present paper is to use ad material from an actual ad campaign to examine joint greenwashing, by an industry organization and a national government, of consumer products and public policies. Using an actual government-subsidized video commercial for ‘Swiss meat’ as an example, the present paper examines greenwashing targeting both consumers and citizens to influence their product choices and policy opinions. Based on an online survey of an age- and gender-representative sample (n = 637), we measured aspects of consumer knowledge that would enable the consumers to put the ad’s message in perspective, perceptions of the ad, and beliefs about Swiss meat production. Furthermore, we used a two-factorial experimental design to examine how the video commercial and objective product information affected policy opinions relative to control treatments. We find that the consumers strongly overestimated the true percentage of Swiss farms that used the environmentally friendly feeding system featured in the ad. Regarding perceptions, 52% of the respondents ‘rather’ or ‘fully’ agreed with the statement ‘the ad conveys a realistic image of Swiss meat production’, and 41% ‘rather’ or ‘fully’ agreed with the statement ‘the ad shows the production of Swiss beef as it is’. Regarding beliefs, 51% of the respondents ‘partly’, ‘rather’, or ‘fully’ agreed that ‘more meat production in Switzerland is good for the environment’. The video commercial did not influence beliefs about Swiss meat but changed policy opinions in the favor of government subsidies for the advertisement of Swiss meat. The information treatment influenced policy opinions in the opposite direction but did not decrease the effect of the misleading ad. Other significant predictors of support for increased meat subsidies included frequent meat consumption, low factual knowledge, and positive product beliefs. The results of the survey indicate that the ad campaign may have unduly influenced perceptions of Swiss meat production and public opinion about agricultural policy. The findings raise concerns about the current self-regulation of the communication industry and joint private and public advertising of Swiss agricultural products and policies.

Schläpfer, F., Garibay, A., & Ryf, S. (2025). ‘They only get the feed that grows on our farm’: A survey experiment on government-subsidized greenwashing of Swiss meat and agricultural policy. Sustainability, 17(2), 682. https://doi.org/10.3390/su17020682 

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An in-vitro digestion study compared the macronutrient composition and digestibility of three commonly consumed Asian meats (pork, chicken, and fish) with their corresponding meat alternatives. The digesta was analysed to determine protein, lipid, and carbohydrate digestibility. For protein quality, the limiting amino acids of the animal-based products were valine, while those of alternative meat products were methionine and cysteine. Animal-based products had a higher content of essential amino acids and a better overall protein quality score than their alternative meat counterparts, especially for pork and chicken. Alternative meat products generally had higher levels of polyunsaturated fats, including linoleic acid and α-linoleic acid, than animal meat products. However, some essential fatty acids, such as arachidonic acid, were less bioaccessible in the alternative meat products. While inherent low carbohydrate content in whole-muscle meats minimised the impact of starch digestibility, alternative processed meat products exhibited significantly lower digestibility. This decrease was attributed to the presence of fibre, which interacted with starches and hindered enzyme accessibility. These findings provide valuable insights into the nutritional quality and overall health implications of consuming alternative meat products. This also highlights the areas for improvement in developing these products to provide a more balanced and bioavailable source of nutrients.

Roszczynska-Kurasinska, M., Biesaga, M., & Alves De Oliveira, C. (2025, January 7). A comparative analysis of Reddit discussions on meat reduction in Portugal, Poland, and the United Kingdom. Proceedings of the 58th Hawaii International Conference on System Sciences. 58th Hawaii International Conference on System Sciences. https://linkinghub.elsevier.com/retrieve/pii/S0889157524012055 

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Healthy diets are crucial for maintaining overall well-being and reducing risk of health complications. Visual cues and primes are popular implicit nudging techniques for promoting healthier consumption habits. The present review and meta-analysis was conducted and reported according to PRISMA guidelines. It aimed to evaluate the effectiveness of these cues and primes for nudging consumption-related behaviours. Six electronic databases were comprehensively searched for experimental studies on the use of non-marketing-based visual cues/primes on food/beverage consumption. Sixty-six studies from 52 articles were included, resulting in 205 comparisons categorised into seven groups for separate analyses: (1) healthy food- and (2) body-related nudges, and (3) unhealthy food- and (4) body-related nudges, versus neutral controls; (5) mixed-health food- and (6) body-related comparisons; and (7) nudges not inherently health-related. Overall, nudges effectively influenced consumption-related behaviours. Healthier food- and body-nudges encouraged healthier behaviours relative to neutral controls and less healthy nudges, and unhealthy food-nudges, relative to neutral controls. Non-health-related nudges influenced behaviours in the expected direction, relative to comparison/control conditions. Nudge effectiveness, especially for unhealthy food-nudges, was moderated by participant age and weight, nudge timing (prime/cue) outcome measure (intake/choice), health (mixed/healthy/unhealthy), and whether the outcome was real or hypothetical. A range of participant, nudge, and outcome-related mechanisms proposed to underlie nudge effectiveness were also identified. Findings supported the efficacy of visual cues and primes for eliciting changes in consumption-related behaviours, indicating they may be effective for encouraging healthier consumption, when the right nudges are used. Results also indicated that different forms of nudges may be more appropriate in different circumstances (e.g., for different types of participants or food-related outcomes). Further research is needed to thoroughly comprehend the mechanisms underlying these nudges and their effectiveness.

Kay, E., Kemps, E., & Prichard, I. (2024). A systematic review and meta-analysis of visual cues and primes for nudging consumption-related behaviours. Appetite, 206, 107813. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.appet.2024.107813 

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Purpose

Reducing meat consumption requires significant effort from individuals. Such shifts in diet can be compelling examples of radical lifestyle change. The article explores factors that may trigger radical behavioural change. Decreased meat consumption yields environmental and health advantages; nevertheless, individuals often neglect to adopt this change in their diet.

Design/methodology/approach

The conceptual model is based on Fogg’s behavioural framework. The research is based on a survey, where respondents have already changed their lifestyles and reduced their meat consumption in the past. Respondents were recruited from social media groups in Hungary. Particular emphasis is put on the deeper analysis of open-ended questions. The coding process proposed by Strauss and Corbin was followed. Coding and analysis were supported by NVivo software.

Findings

Motivations, abilities and triggers of dietary changes were identified. Results revealed the prominent role of content creators. Influencers and social media can play an incubator role in diffusing new consumption patterns. Strong emotional experiences can also trigger radical lifestyle changes. Discouraging voices were mainly those of family and close acquaintances. Children tend to encourage parents, while parents tend to discourage children when it comes to reducing meat consumption.

Originality/value

Behaviour change theories primarily focus on incremental changes, yet there is a growing need to understand radical lifestyle changes related to food consumption. This article explores the triggering factors of such radical dietary changes. The study is a rare example of large-scale qualitative sustainable consumption research.

Csutora, M., & Vetőné Mózner, Z. (2025). Can we trigger radical lifestyle change in sustainable consumption? Exploring motivations, abilities and triggers of dietary changes. British Food Journal. https://doi.org/10.1108/BFJ-04-2024-0399 

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High aggregate levels of wildlife consumption in Central African cities may be depleting wildlife populations. This study explores the impacts of demand and supply-side interventions on wild meat consumption through two randomized control trials in restaurants in Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of the Congo: a demand-side experiment and a supply-side experiment. In the demand-side experiment, 544 subjects were given a coupon to their restaurant of choice and randomly assigned to view either a treatment video discouraging wild meat consumption or a control video unrelated to wild meat. Treatment group subjects are 31% less likely to order wild meat than control group subjects, though this difference is not statistically significant and may be affected by social desirability bias. In the supply-side experiment, the research question is whether randomly reducing the price of Moambe Chicken, a potential alternative to wild meat, affects restaurants’ total wild meat sales. The elasticity estimate indicates that a 1% reduction in the price of Moambe Chicken reduces total wild meat sales by 0.91%. Although this relationship is not statistically significant, it suggests that interventions increasing the availability and affordability of alternatives to wild meat may reduce wild meat consumption. The experiments advance previous wild meat research by utilizing actual consumption data rather than self-reported data, assessing social desirability bias, and pre-registering all statistical specifications to enhance research integrity. This paper provides preliminary evidence that both wild meat demand reduction through social marketing campaigns and supply expansion via affordable alternatives could contribute to effective wildlife conservation in Central Africa.

Cisse, A., Englander, G., & Ingram, D. (2025). Conserving wildlife through demand reduction and supply alternatives: Two experiments in restaurants in Kinshasa. World Bank Group. https://documents.worldbank.org/en/publication/documents-reports/documentdetail/099908401072537544/idu1e76413ef1d4e314f7a1a2da14d81137d49ee 

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The primary objective of this research was to evaluate the feasibility and acceptability of “Supper Heroes”, a superhero-themed mobile health (mHealth) intervention designed to reduce food waste and increase plant-based protein food intake among families with children aged 9–14 in Ontario, Canada. A single arm, pre-post mixed methods design was used to evaluate the intervention. The 4-month mHealth intervention included 7 online modules with infographics, videos, and activities to help families reduce their food waste and eat more plant-based protein foods. Feasibility was assessed using website analytics to monitor intervention completion and attrition. Acceptability was assessed at post-intervention using online surveys of parents and children, and in-depth interviews with parents. 23 out of 30 families (77%) were retained from pre-to post-intervention; 33 parents (22 mothers, 10 fathers; and 1 parent who did not disclose their gender) completed the pre-intervention and post-intervention surveys and 33 children (16 girls; 15 boys; 1 child who did not disclose their gender; and 1 non-binary child) completed the post-intervention surveys. Most parents (95% of mothers and 100% of fathers) and children (88%) reported that they were satisfied or highly satisfied with the intervention. Overall, the intervention was feasible and well-accepted by parents and children. A randomized, controlled trial among a larger sample is recommended to further evaluate intervention impacts. These results can inform future research and public health interventions aimed at promoting sustainable diets.

Eckert, K. F., Agostinelli, J., Laila, A., Alexander, C., Parizeau, K., von Massow, M., Duncan, A. M., Hesketh, K. D., Ma, D. W. L., & Haines, J. (2025). Feasibility, acceptability, and preliminary impact of “Supper Heroes”, a family-based sustainable diet intervention. Appetite, 206, 107849. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.appet.2025.107849 

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Well-designed effective interventions promoting sustainable diets are urgently needed to benefit both human and planetary health. This study evaluated the feasibility, acceptability, and potential impact of a pilot blended digital intervention aimed at promoting sustainable diets. We conducted a series of ABA n-of-1 trials with baseline, intervention, and follow-up phases over the course of a year, involving twelve participants. The intervention included text messages, and individualized online feedback sessions. Quantitative data on diet composition was collected daily for 15 weeks distributed over the year. Qualitative data was collected through interviews at the end of each phase. Results showed high feasibility and acceptability: 100% retention rate, 75% attendance at all feedback sessions, and an average response rate of 86% to the dietary questionnaires. The intervention had a positive and significant effect on the overall diet composition. Specifically, 92% of the participants significantly increased their daily fruit and vegetable consumption, and 58% significantly reduced their intake of red and processed meat as well as ultra-processed foods. Participants also reported reducing food waste, choosing minimally packaged and in-season foods, and prioritizing fair-sourced food. The study demonstrates the potential of digital interventions to effectively promote sustainable dietary behaviors and offers insights for future large-scale implementations. Upcoming iterations should involve a more diverse population, particularly less motivated individuals and with more diverse socioeconomic status.

Fresán, U., López-Moreno, M., Fàbregues, S., Bernard, P., Boronat, A., Araújo-Soares, V., König, L. M., Buekers, J., & Chevance, G. (2025). Feasibility and potential effect of a pilot blended digital behavior change intervention promoting sustainable diets over a year. Scientific Reports, 15(1), 2052. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-025-85307-5 

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According to psychological reactance theory, individuals who perceive a threat to or loss of valued behavior will experience reactance – an amalgam of anger and negative cognitions that motivates an effort to regain behavioral freedom. The limited effects of health communication interventions have often been attributed to psychological reactance, and previous research has tended to focus on how to design health messages that mitigate this phenomenon. However, the motivational nature of reactance suggests that it might also be used to promote health. When people learn that external influences circumvent a positive health behavior, this information may elicit reactance, motivating them to exhibit that behavior. This idea found support in the results of a preregistered experiment (N = 358), showing that participants were more willing to reduce meat consumption when they experienced reactance after reading about how the food industry undermines self-determined dietary decisions. The findings indicate that harnessing reactance to leverage behavior change may offer a promising alternative to established communication strategies.

Sprengholz, P., & Bührig, D. (2025). Reactance as a persuasive strategy: How health communication can harness anger to leverage behavior change. Health Communication, 1–7. https://doi.org/10.1080/10410236.2024.2446369 

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As food choices are increasingly made in contexts such as online supermarkets, nudging has been extrapolated to the digital sphere. Digitalization poses unique opportunities to enhance the promotion of healthier food choices online: Digital nudges can be delivered “just-in-time” (JIT), in response to the initial selection of an unhealthy product. Furthermore, digital JIT nudges can be personalized to match user characteristics of behavioral relevance, such as one’s food and cognitive processing preferences. We examined whether personalizing by user-matching digital JIT nudges on content (i.e., emphasizing health versus price) and/or type (i.e., a text-based versus an image-based nudge) would increase nudge effectiveness and healthier food purchases, and assessed psychological mechanisms potentially underlying these enhanced effects. In a 2 (Nudge Content: Non-personalized versus Personalized) by 2 (Nudge Type: Non-personalized versus Personalized) randomized controlled trial, 200 healthy participants completed an online grocery shopping task on a mock supermarket app in which they first selected products from 10 different categories, followed by a checkout screen where they could replace products in the shopping basket. Personalizing nudge type increased nudge effectiveness (i.e., the proportion of accepted nudges when choosing products from categories). Personalizing nudge content seemed to exert a delayed effect of increasing healthier product replacements prior to checkout. User perceptions of JIT nudges did not vary with personalization. However, regardless of personalization, all JIT nudging conditions had more final healthier food purchases and greater satisfaction with food choices compared to the control condition. Collectively, this pre-registered “proof-of-principle” study demonstrates that personalizing the content and type of digital JIT nudges yields small positive benefits on the healthiness of online food choices and attests to the utility of JIT interventions for health promotion.

de Vries, R., Bol, N., & van der Laan, N. (2025). “Just-in-time” but a bit delayed: Personalizing digital nudges for healthier online food choices. Appetite, 206, 107852. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.appet.2025.107852 

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Transitioning to plant-based diets is crucial for building more sustainable food systems and mitigating climate change. However, understanding how laypeople perceive the reduction of meat consumption and how these representations influence food preferences remains underexplored. According to Action Identification Theory, (1) people identify actions in various ways, from means to complex reasons, and (2) emphasizing practical means is a lever to reduce the negative impact of difficulty on action execution (i.e., the optimality hypothesis). In Study 1 (N = 481), when participants were asked “what one does when limiting meat consumption?”, they identified one set of means and three types of reasons: environmental, health-related, and ethical. Subsequently, although confirmatory analysis did not support the spontaneous optimality hypothesis, an exploratory profile analysis revealed a tendency to focus on means when the action was difficult. However, this did not lead to a stronger intention to reduce meat intake, as only respondents perceiving both reasons and means exhibited greater engagement. In Study 2 (N = 171), the main analysis did not confirm the induced optimality hypothesis between action identification and difficulty, but an exploratory analysis indicated that depicting means (vs. reasons) could mitigate the negative effect of past meat consumption on food choices in an in-lab task. Taken together, these two studies suggest that Action Identification Theory is a relevant framework for examining sustainable food practices. However, further research is needed to establish the effectiveness of means-focused strategies in disrupting the negative influence of habits on switching to a more sustainable diet.

Langlais, C., Demarque, C., Mauduy, M., Waroquier, L., Le Moal, M., & Sénémeaud, C. (2025). ‘Limiting climate change’ or ‘finding substitutes’: How does action identification influence meat consumption reduction among young adults? https://doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.5082889 

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Transitioning towards a more plant-based diet can promote sustainable food consumption while simultaneously addressing environmental and health-related issues. Integrated nudging strategies are effective in promoting healthy eating behaviours. Therefore, this study aimed to investigate the effect of an integrated nudging intervention to promote plant-based meals and determine its effect on promoting sustainable food consumption behaviour. The effects of two versions of a meal on the frequency of choosing a plant-based meal were tested through a quasi-experimental pre-post intervention at three educational context canteens. During the intervention, the priming tools were strategically positioned between the meat meal and the plant-based target meal. In total, 3870 purchases were analysed to observe their choices. Additionally, a total of 508 consumers completed a pre- or post-intervention survey. Approximately 60.5 kg (133.4 lbs) less of food waste was generated during the intervention compared to the baseline with a reduction of 6.5 % per plate. The purchase of plant-based meals increased by about 38% from pre-to during-intervention, while meat-based meals decreased by about 19%. The grams of meal consumed per meat-based plate differed significantly from pre-to post-intervention, while that of plant-based did not differ significantly. The environmental assessment reveals that adopting a more plant-based diet and minimizing food waste for each plate significantly reduces the overall environmental impact of the meal. The integrated nudging strategy indirectly influenced sustainable food consumption behaviour through its effect on attitudes and subjective knowledge. Price-health-conscious consumers exhibited higher sustainable food consumption behaviour. These findings suggest that integrated nudging interventions can effectively shift consumer choices towards sustainable food options by influencing their attitudes and knowledge, eventually benefiting environmental sustainability and public health.

Pandey, S., Olsen, A., & Thomsen, M. (2025). Nudging strategies to promote plant-based and sustainable food consumption in canteens. Appetite, 107874. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.appet.2025.107874 

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In this study, we analyzed data from a large sample (n = 778) of individuals who identified as flexitarians, using Brazil as a case study. We applied Natural Language Processing (NLP) to characterize the reasons why individuals self-identify as flexitarians. We explored how these self-perceptions contribute to the construction of a flexitarian identity and identified the challenges this group faces in adopting a flexitarian diet. Our results indicate that there is no homogeneous flexitarian identity, but rather a diversity of categories, organized into five distinct clusters: ethical flexitarians (those who express greater concern for the environment and animals), flexible vegetarians (those who often express the desire to become vegetarian but still consume meat), meat lovers (those who enjoy meat but do not feel compelled to consume it), moderate consumers (those who refrain from meat on certain days of the week), and meat reducers (those who actively reduce their meat consumption). The latter three groups are more similar, as they tend to reduce their meat intake due to the belief that meat is not essential in their diet, although they still enjoy its taste. Additionally, we found that the main challenge faced by our participants is directly related to the social environment, specifically the difficulty in finding alternatives to meat, which makes the love for meat’s taste and meat-centric eating habits secondary challenges.

Teixeira, C. D., De Lima, D. G., de Menezes Neto, E. J., Gomes, S. M., & Jacob, M. C. M. (2025). Reasons and challenges of adopting flexitarian diet: A mixed-methods approach using natural language processing. BioRxiv. https://doi.org/10.1101/2025.01.05.631383 

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Reducing meat consumption is crucial for improving population and planetary health. Millions of students regularly eat at university cafeterias, which offer a unique opportunity to promote meat-free meals to new generations by addressing barriers such as accessibility, price, and cooking skills. This study aimed to analyse the individual characteristics associated with the proportion of vegetarian main dish choices in a university cafeteria and to determine whether this behaviour influenced the nutritional quality and environmental impact of student meals. A sample of 257 French students who ate regularly at a large university cafeteria took part in an observational study with repeated measures. They took pictures of their meal trays each time they ate at the cafeteria for three months. They completed an online questionnaire to assess their sociodemographic characteristics and various behavioural determinants of the choice of a vegetarian main dish based on the Capability, Opportunity, Motivation Behaviour (COM-B) framework. Being a woman was the only sociodemographic characteristic significantly associated with more frequent vegetarian main dish selection. The proportion of vegetarian choices was negatively associated with attachment to meat (p < 0.001, η2 = 0.189) and positively associated with environmental knowledge (p = 0.034, η2 = 0.018) and the following food choice motives: animal welfare (p < 0.001, η2 = 0.062), health (p < 0.001, η2 = 0.044), ethics (p = 0.002, η2 = 0.039), natural content (p = 0.010, η2 = 0.026), religion (p = 0.014, η2 = 0.025), and mood (p = 0.022, η2 = 0.020). Students who chose vegetarian main dishes more frequently composed healthier (p = 0.023, η2 = 0.020) and more environmentally friendly meal trays (p < 0.001, η2 = 0.349). These findings highlight the variability in the students’ propensity to choose vegetarian main dishes in a university cafeteria and its association with motivational factors in a food environment bound by design.

Arrazat, L., Teil, F., Nicklaus, S., & Marty, L. (2025). Sociodemographic and behavioural determinants of vegetarian main dish selection in a French university cafeteria: A three-month observational study with repeated measures. Appetite, 107856. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.appet.2025.107856 

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The increasing global meat consumption poses significant environmental challenges, including greenhouse gas emissions, land degradation, and excessive water usage, necessitating a shift toward sustainable dietary habits. The aim of this study is to investigate university students’ intentions to reduce meat consumption, focusing on the influence of food-related lifestyle, attitude toward meat reduction and socio-demographic factors. Data collected from 397 students were analyzed using hierarchical cluster analysis using the ward method, anova, pearson correlation, and multiple linear regression. Five consumer clusters were identified such as rational,adventurous, careless, conservative, and uninvolved, each showing distinct consumption patterns. The Adventurous cluster exhibited the highest intention to reduce meat consumption, driven by novelty-seeking and openness to new culinary experiences. Attitude emerged as the most influential predictor of intention, surpassing gender and lifestyle clusters, with women demonstrating stronger intentions than men. By analyzing these dynamics, the study provide insights for targeted strategies, including educational campaigns, product innovations, and policies supporting meat reduction.

Nurcahyaning Tyas, P. R., Setiawan, Prof. Dr. Ir. B., & Hartono, Dr. R. (2025). The role of food related-lifestyle in predicting students intention to reduce meat consumption. https://doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.5114552 

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Background

Reducing the environmental impact of foods consumed is important for meeting climate goals. We aimed to conduct a randomised controlled trial to test whether ecolabels reduce the environmental impact of food selected in worksite cafeterias, alone or in combination with increased availability of more sustainable meal options.

Methods

Worksite cafeterias (n = 96) were randomised to one of three study groups, with 54 included for final analysis. One group was intended to increase the availability of meat-free options, but no change was implemented. Therefore, this group was treated as part of the control, creating two groups: (1) control (no ecolabels) (n = 35), and (2) ecolabels (n = 19). Regression analysis assessed the primary outcome of total environmental impact of hot meals sold over a 6-week period. Secondary outcome analyses explored the individual environmental indicators that composed the total environmental impact score (i.e., greenhouse gas emissions, biodiversity loss, eutrophication, and water scarcity). The mean weekly environmental impact scores of hot meal options over the full 12-week trial period were assessed using hierarchical mixed effects models.

Results

There was no significant effect of the intervention on the environmental impact scores of meals sold (mean difference between control and intervention sites: -1.4%, 95%CI: -33.6%, + 30.8%). There was no evidence of an effect in mean weekly environmental impact score (-5.4%, 95%CI: -12.6%, + 2.5%), nor in any of the four individual environmental indicators (greenhouse gas emissions: -3.6%, 95%CI: -30.7%, 34.3%; biodiversity loss: 2.0%, 95%CI: -25.8%, 40.2%; eutrophication: -2.4%, 95%CI: -29.3%, 34.7%; water scarcity: -0.4%, 95%CI: -28.7%, 39.1%).

Conclusions

Ecolabels may not be an effective tool to shift consumer behaviour in worksite cafeterias towards meals with lower environmental impact.

Luick, M., Stewart, C., Clark, M., Bateman, P., Biggs, E., Cook, B., Little, M., Wren, G. M., Jebb, S. A., & Pechey, R. (2025). Testing the effect of ecolabels on the environmental impact of food purchases in worksite cafeterias: A randomised controlled trial. BMC Public Health, 25(1), 127. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12889-024-21272-4 

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The global food and nutrition security situation remains severe, with multiple crises exacerbating hunger and food insecurity. Climate change, regional conflicts, inflationary pressures, and slow economic recovery in many parts of the world have led to decreased incomes and purchasing power, worsening global hunger and malnutrition. The 2023 State of Food Security and Nutrition in the World indicates that between 691 million and 783 million people faced hunger in 2022, with a food insecurity prevalence of 29.6%, including approximately 900 million people experiencing severe food insecurity. Furthermore, over 3.1 billion people cannot afford a healthy diet due to diminished access to nutritious food.

Fan, S., Chen, K. Z., Zhao, W., & Si, W. (2025). 2024 China and Global Food Policy Report: Building a sustainable and diversified food supply to foster agrifood systems transformation. Academy of Global Food Economics and Policy. https://hdl.handle.net/10568/168521 

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As global attention on sustainable and ethical food systems grows, animal welfare-friendly products (AWFP) are increasingly recognized as essential to addressing consumer and producer concerns. However, traditional research often neglects the interdependencies between production, retail, and consumption stages within the supply chain. This study examined how cross-stage interactions among producers, consumers, and retail intermediaries can promote AWFP adoption. By establishing a short value chain from production to consumption, we conducted a two-month choice experiment in the operational restaurant, employing a mixed-method approach to quantitatively and qualitatively assess stakeholder responses. The results revealed that providing information about AWFP practices significantly influenced consumer behavior, increasing both product selection and perceived value. Retailers recognized the potential for economic benefits and strengthened customer loyalty, while producers identified new revenue opportunities by re-fattening delivered cow. These coordinated changes – defined as synchronized actions and mutual reinforcement across production, retail, and consumption – generated positive feedback loops that motivated stakeholders to adopt AWFP practices. This research underscores the potential of strategically designed short value chain to foster cross-stage coordination and highlights their role as practical entry points for promoting sustainable and ethical food systems on a larger scale.

Washio, T., Takagi, S., Saijo, M., Wako, K., Sato, K., Ito, H., Takeda, K., & Ohashi, T. (2025, January 18). Building short value chains for animal welfare-friendly products adoption: Insights from a restaurant-based Study in Japan. https://arxiv.org/abs/2501.10680 

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Background: Several high-income countries have announced plans to reduce the animal-to-plant (A:P) protein ratios in their population diets. Their current A:P ratio is around 65:35, with two thirds of the protein coming from animal sources, meat, eggs, and dairy. Efforts to reduce the dietary A:P protein ratio to 50:50, 40:60, or below are sometimes referred to as a “healthy protein transition.”

Methods: Analyses of Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) and World Bank data were used to show that an opposing and far more important protein transition is taking place globally.

Results: In most low- and middle-income countries (LMIC), the dietary A:P protein ratio was closely associated with, if not determined, by gross national incomes (GNI). As incomes rise, LMIC populations adopt more varied and more nutrient-rich diets with more animal proteins and especially meat. This protein transition, manifested by a strong observed relation between rising incomes and higher A:P protein ratios, follows a well-known principle of economics known as Bennett’s Law.

Conclusion: Consumer education and regulatory and policy measures aimed at reducing dietary A:P protein ratios worldwide may not uncouple the fundamental relation between powerful economic forces and global diet structures.

Drewnowski, A., & Hooker, K. (2025). The protein transition: What determines the animal-to-plant (A:P) protein ratios in global diets. Frontiers in Nutrition, 12. https://doi.org/10.3389/fnut.2025.1518793 

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This pilot study explores the feasibility of creating a global map of industrial pig and chicken farms using convolutional neural networks (CNNs) and satellite imagery. Such a map would support efforts to mitigate the environmental, public health, and animal welfare impacts of industrial animal agriculture.

By training a CNN on Sentinel-2 satellite imagery and ground-truth farm data from four countries, the study produced a model capable of detecting large, visually recognizable industrial farms. While not yet sufficient for creating a complete and accurate global inventory of industrial pig and chicken farms of all types and sizes, the model can be used to identify locations where large, standardized industrial farms have become established. This constitutes a significant advance, and several use cases for the model at its current stage of development are described.

Several challenges were identified during this work, including variability in farm characteristics, difficulty in obtaining suitable training data, and the limitations of 10-meter resolution imagery. Addressing these issues would improve the model’s accuracy and scalability. Specific next steps are proposed, including incorporating higher-resolution satellite data, expanding the training dataset with the assistance of expert knowledge, and implementing modeling techniques that build on the current approach. These improvements would make the approach more robust and capable of supporting a broader range of applications.

Mason, R. (2025). Towards a global database and regular monitoring of CAFOs: A pilot study. Food System Research Fund. https://www.fsrfund.org/fsrf-2023-12-01 

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This study explores the transition toward a sustainable meat and alternative protein supply chain in Japan using a transition design approach. Amid growing global demands for sustainability in livestock systems, Japan faces unique challenges, such as geographical and structural constraints and low consumer awareness regarding sustainability and animal welfare. The aim of this study is to address the structural issues within Japan’s protein supply system and present sustainable transition scenarios. Through detailed interviews with 21 frontrunners and co-creation workshops, the structural challenges of the current socio-technical regime that hinder transition were analyzed, and a theory of change was developed. The findings reveal that Japan’s meat and protein supply systems are locked into unsustainable practices due to regulatory, cognitive, and normative rules. Based on these insights, three transition scenarios are proposed: “Grazed Lean Beef as a Feast,” “Localized Circular Communities,” and “Food Printer”. These scenarios emphasize the importance of experimental networks, culturally grounded visions, and phased interventions. This study contributes to the theoretical understanding of sustainable transitions in the food sector and provides practical strategies for policymakers and industry stakeholders in Japan.

Fujisaki, M., Fujimaki, S., Mochizuki, T., Mashimo, N., Taki, K., Takasaki, K., Saijo, M., Taoka, Y., Nakatani, M., & Ohashi, T. (2025). Transition design for a sustainable meat and alternatives supply chain in Japan: Three transition scenarios envisioning future food systems. https://doi.org/10.31219/osf.io/uyqn7 

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Canada is a unique case study exemplifying the effects of industry capture and protectionism. The Canadian animal agriculture industry has been effective at maintaining beneficial agricultural policies and limiting progress towards better welfare and conditions for farmed animals. This makes Canada a country of contradictions, with widespread and growing interest from the public for progress for animals (1) alongside abjectly cruel and unnecessary practices such as seal hunting (2), fur farming (3) and the use of cages in agriculture (4). A lot of work remains to bring animal protection legislation in line with public expectations and the interests of animals.  

Animal Ask. (2025). Animal advocacy in Canada. Animal Ask. https://www.animalask.org/post/animal-advocacy-in-canada 

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This month’s Faunalytics Index provides facts and stats about funding for animal activists, agriculture’s impact on the Colorado River, a banner year for our Research Library, and more. 

orzechowski, karol. (2025). Faunalytics Index – January 2025. Faunalytics. https://faunalytics.org/faunalytics-index-january-2025/ 

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While every movement is unique, there are common threads that run through all social justice issues – and lessons to be learnt from diverse campaigns…

Animal Think Tank. (2025, January 16). What can our movement learn from anti-tobacco campaigns? https://animalthinktank.substack.com/p/what-can-our-movement-learn-from?r=z97a1&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web&triedRedirect=true 

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Our latest report investigates why former executive directors of animal advocacy organizations chose to leave their positions, and what boards can do to retain their leaders.

Flocke, V. (2025). Why did you quit? Leadership turnover in the animal advocacy movement. Faunalytics. https://faunalytics.org/why-did-you-quit-leadership-turnover-in-the-animal-advocacy-movement/ 

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This study aimed to evaluate the psychometric properties of the Dietarian Identity Questionnaire (DIQ), an instrument based on the Unified Model of Vegetarian Identity (UMVI), within a Brazilian context of adult vegetarians, dietary vegans and omnivores. Vegetarianism encompasses various dietary patterns that range from avoiding and reducing to excluding animal-derived foods, as is the case with dietary vegans. The UMVI conceptualizes vegetarianism and related dietary patterns as dietarian identities. Dietarian identity represents a novel framework within the Brazilian context, underscoring the significance of the present study. After transcultural adaptation, a Brazilian sample was recruited in two stages (n = 1181 and n = 226), comprising omnivores, vegetarians, and dietary vegans, aged 18 to 60 years. Data was collected via the RedCap platform, with participants being reached through vegetarian/dietary vegan groups in social media and direct outreach to various vegetarian associations. Psychometric evaluation included confirmatory factor analysis, assessment of convergent validity, and test-retest reliability. Additionally, multiple ANOVAs were conducted to explore differences among omnivores, vegetarians, and dietary vegans in the Brazilian population. The confirmatory factor analysis confirmed the instrument’s internal structure and validity, with test-retest reliability and convergent validity further supporting its psychometric properties. Brazilian omnivores exhibited higher levels of Centrality, Personal Regard, Strictness, and Prosocial and Moral Motivations compared to data from other cultural contexts, such as Europeans and North Americans. These findings highlight unique aspects of Brazilian dietarian identity, challenging existing literature and emphasizing the need for further exploration of cultural influences on dietarian identity, including regional and cross-cultural perspectives.

Azevedo, J. R. L. de, Rosenfeld, D. L., & Braga Costa, T. M. (2025). Adaptation and validation of the Dietarian Identity Questionnaire (DIQ) to the Brazilian context on a sample of omnivores, vegetarians and dietary vegans. Current Psychology. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12144-024-07243-3 

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Carnism is an ideology that supports meat consumption using arguments known as the three Ns: natural, necessary, and normal. Subsequently, the argument of’nice’ was added to these Ns, so the 3Ns became the 4Ns. The primary objective of this study was to improve the Spanish version of the 4N Scale, the most widely used scale to measure this conception of carnism, in terms of theoretical fit and psychometric properties based on a first adaptation of the 4N Scale to the Spanish context. This study explored the suitability of different 3N-based models to determine the best theoretical framework to measure carnism. This work consisted of two parts: Study 1 (n = 300), which tested different models in terms of theoretical structure and psychometric properties of the 4Ns, and Study 2 (n = 455), which validated the best model of Study 1 and explored a second-order factor model. Confirmatory factor analyses were performed in both studies and the results showed that the 4N model, which had methodological issues, would be improved if only natural, necessary, and nice dimensions were used. The findings suggest that, even though Normality is an essential aspect of understanding the ideology of carnism, we discuss the rationale behind why Normal dimension in the carnism measurement is not appropriate.

Suárez-Yera, C., Sánchez-Castelló, M., Ordóñez-Carrasco, J. L., & Rojas-Tejada, A. J. (2025). From the 4Ns to the 3Ns. Reliability and validation studies of the Spanish-adapted Carnism Scale. Current Psychology. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12144-025-07342-9 

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Moral disengagement is a valuable framework for studying dissonance reduction strategies in environmentally harmful behaviours, specifically meat consumption. The Moral Disengagement in Meat Questionnaire (MDMQ; Graça et al., 2016) proposes a five-factor structure for this framework, including means-end justifications, desensitization, denial of negative consequences, diffused responsibility, and reduced perceived choice. The full questionnaire or its individual scales have been increasingly used in studies on meat consumption, but it has not seen further validation, which is particularly relevant when adapting scales to a new context, such as a different language. This study evaluates the psychometric properties of the German version of the MDMQ (MDMQ-G) using confirmatory factor analysis (CFA), assessment of construct and concurrent validity, and an exploration of construct alignment through a mapping approach. The CFA results, despite showing mediocre global model fit, support the five-factor structure with a single second-order dimension, consistent with the original model, suggesting robust dimensionality across European samples. Significant differences across all scales between participants of male and female gender affirm the known-group validity of the construct. Construct alignment and respective discrepancies between the scales and the theoretical framework are being discussed. The findings underscore the importance of ongoing validation and support future refinements and applications of the scales.

Schüßler, C., Schulz, P., Tomczyk, S., Schmidt, S., & Stoll-Kleemann, S. (2025). Psychometric properties of the German version of the moral disengagement in meat questionnaire (MDMQ-G). Food Quality and Preference, 127, 105439. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.foodqual.2025.105439 

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Animal rights are influenced by two main approaches: utilitarian and rights-oriented. In the rights-oriented spectrum, animals have the right to live without human interference. This approach advocates for the abolition of animal exploitation through legal and extra-legal changes, recognizing non-human animals. Approaches based on human interests are the dominant axis of legal rulings in ensuring the right to a healthy environment in domestic law. The competing doctrine in the field of environmental studies is the “Eco centrism oriented approach to law,” often neglected by jurists. It emphasizes the potential benefits and rights of non-human elements of the environment. This article examines the obstacles, emerging contexts, and examples of nature-based approaches in the internal laws of France and Iran. The fundamental premise of this descriptive and analytical research is that guaranteeing the right to a balanced, healthy, and safe environment requires reducing the severity of anthropocentric environmental views and moving towards comprehensive thinking in this field. Furthermore, the discourse on biodiversity, which includes protecting biological species, necessitates the rejection of institutionalized exploitation that leads to animal exploitation and extreme human control. By exploring the right to enjoyment model and adopting a rights-oriented approach, we can advocate for the rights of non-human animals.

Fazaeli, M., Mashhadi, A., & َAbtahi, S. (2025). Animals as a potential party to the right, in the light of the Ecocentrism oriented approach to law: A study of the legal systems of Iran and France. Legal Research Quarterly. https://lawresearchmagazine.sbu.ac.ir/article_105266_en.html?lang=en 

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To reduce food systems emissions, economists and policymakers have called for carbon pricing on food products. This climate policy could lead to substitution away from carbon-intensive products from larger animals (beef, pork) to less carbon-intensive products from smaller animals (chicken, farmed fish). This can result in an increase in the total number of slaughtered animals and the total duration of their suffering. This study models this Small Animal Replacement Problem using a supply and demand model with constant elasticities. It then calibrates the model with data for the United States. The calibrated model predicts that a food carbon tax will cause a small decrease in the number of slaughtered animals and the duration of their suffering. This result is compared to a tax per slaughtered animal, for which the results predict a small decrease in greenhouse gas emissions. When an animal’s death is valued at 10% of the Social Cost of Carbon or higher, a slaughter tax would be more tax-efficient at reducing external costs than a carbon tax. A meat and fish tax could be an easier-to-implement alternative to carbon and slaughter taxation when reducing greenhouse gas emissions and animal suffering are considered approximately equally important.

Zeijlmans, S. (2025). Carbon and slaughter taxes for meat: Modelling trade-offs between climate change and animal welfare. https://doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.5080715 

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After conducting expert interviews, we deem it unlikely that the animal products alternative sector (viz., plant-based meat cell-cultured meat companies) will face steep costs due to a regulatory “patchwork” of product label restrictions across US states. Advocates should oppose a federal ban on meat-like terminology, but not a federal requirement for clarificatory language.

Mendez, S., & McAuliffe, W. (2025). Effects of Restrictive Animal Product Alternative Labeling Laws on Supply-chain Costs. Rethink Priorities. https://rethinkpriorities.org/research-area/effects-of-restrictive-animal-product-alternative-labeling-laws-on-supply-chain-costs/?utm_source=socials 

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Net zero strategies are needed to mitigate the effects of the climate emergency. Food systems are responsible for one third of global GhG emissions. This study explores policies and interventions that can be applied at a local level to decarbonise the food system in the UK, using Bristol as a case study. Online elite interviews were conducted with 12 key stakeholders (policymakers, communities, and businesses). Through their lenses, potential interventions were identified that could promote behaviour change and enable a shift towards low-carbon plant-based diets in Bristol. Interventions are presented in an impact-effort matrix and include action on public procurement, community market gardens and food choice architecture. Although stakeholders think these interventions could be impactful, they also identified significant barriers, such as the need for specific subsidies/funding, resistance to change, and misinformation that will need to be overcome for the interventions to be implemented. The discussion provides examples of how each stakeholder group in the study could get involved to address the interventions proposed by the interviewees, concluding that further research is needed to explore the perspective of other key stakeholders (e.g. public) and different layers of governance (e.g. regional) to reach more holistic and comprehensive outcomes.

Fernandez, R. R., Longhurst, J., & Barnes, J. (2025). Local policies and interventions to reduce a city’s carbon footprint using plant-based diets: Bristol as a case study. Environmental Research: Food Systems. https://iopscience.iop.org/article/10.1088/2976-601X/adad76/meta 

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Research has largely examined how climate change is seen to have an impact on eating practices, namely the promotion of a vegetarian diet in the Euro-American and other WEIRD contexts. Here, we examine these issues in India, where championing vegetarianism closely intersects with casteism. Social psychologists have argued that preference for a meat or plant-only diet is negotiated in the face of concerns over animal harm. We then examine another dilemma where promoting vegetarianism is seen as advocating for marginalization and oppression of caste groups. Using discursive and rhetorical psychology we examined interactions on Reddit where promoting vegetarianism was challenged for its casteism, creating a dilemma. Findings show that, first, users constructed and negotiated the uniqueness of the Indian context for promoting vegetarianism, and second, those promoting vegetarianism did not consider casteism as problematic and endorsed the marginalization of meat-eaters. Users’ constructions of the context were made in ways to negotiate responsibility for the climate crisis in challenging the imposition of vegetarianism. The findings then show that the salience of context in which specific forms of diet are promoted as a response to the climate crisis is central to how these forms of promotion are taken-up. These findings are discussed in relation to research on promoting vegetarianism and management of prejudice in contemporary social psychology.

Sambaraju, R., & Saxena, I. (2025). “Meat eaters are seen as inferior and lowercaste”: Caste, religion, and the climate crisis in promoting plant-based diet in India. https://doi.org/10.31234/osf.io/m53ub 

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In transitioning toward consuming more sustainable diets, it is of great importance to eat less animal-based foods. Particularly shifting to diets lower in meat is key. For several decades, numerous scholars and authoritative organizations have advocated for such a change that is less harmful to human and planetary health. Yet the large body of scientific evidence and the urgent calls for action have been largely neglected in food policymaking despite the increasing impact of climate change and escalating healthcare costs. A first and relatively minor break with this willful ignorance can be observed in the Netherlands, where the Ministry of Agriculture, Nature, and Food Quality has communicated the need for rebalancing the consumption ratio between plant-based and animal-based proteins by 2030. This innovative policy statement on modifying food-consumption patterns is taken as a starting point. In anticipation of further steps in this direction, this article presents a suite of policy instruments and strategies to give substance to demand-side protein policies that are conducive to moderating consumers’ (over-)abundant intake of meat. This overview of policy measures includes conventional and controversial ones, taking the Nuffield intervention ladder as its framework. The novel policy toolbox introduced in this study intends to help muster courage for the development and implementation of consumer-targeted policy interventions to move away from meat-intensive diets.

Dagevos, H., & Onwezen, M. C. (2025). Toward consumer-focused food policies: A toolbox for encouraging the protein transition. Sustainability: Science, Practice and Policy, 21(1). https://doi.org/10.1080/15487733.2025.2454060 

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The issue of farm animal welfare is gaining increased attention, new insights, and involvement from more stakeholders, alongside private initiatives aimed at its improvement. Changing public perceptions of animal welfare further pressures institutions responsible for its oversight. This trend of shifting animal welfare from expert-driven governance to a political issue illustrates its growing politicisation. Research indicates that politicisation processes can lead to declining trust and increasing polarisation across various areas. This study uses the theoretical lens of politicisation to explore how trust in farm animal welfare has evolved over time within Norwegian food production. Norway is a unique case, as surveys from 1997 to 2007 revealed some of the highest trust levels in responsible food and meat production across Europe. However, rationalisation in the agricultural sector, media scrutiny, and heightened activity from private actors are pressuring policymakers and the agricultural sector to maintain legitimacy amid demands to ‘deliver’ good animal welfare as a common interest. As the debate intensifies, this study examines 2020 survey data to evaluate Norway’s position 13 years after the previous survey. The results reveal both change and stability in public trust regarding farm animal welfare. First, trust has declined, though primarily from high levels to greater uncertainty. Second, public trust differs by gender, education, place of residence, and political affiliation, but these differences have not increased since 2007—suggesting that polarisation has remained stable.

Hårstad, R. M. B. (2025). Understanding politicisation of farm animal welfare through stability and change in public trust. Journal of Rural Studies, 114, 103557. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jrurstud.2024.103557 

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This study investigates the role of dietary lifestyles and household dynamics in shaping European adults’ plant-based food purchase intentions. We first obtained cross-cultural data encompassing 6067 participants, balanced for age and gender from ten European countries. We then classified the respondents based on their self-reported dietary lifestyles (omnivores and non-omnivores). We also grouped the participants based on the dietary lifestyles of the members of their households, whether the respondents were living with omnivores or non-omnivores. We then asked the participants to what extent they would like to purchase plant-based food in the future, from a list of various plant-based food types. To determine pertinent associations between dietary lifestyles and household type, we utilized chi-square association tests. Afterwards, we identified any significant differences across respondent groups in terms of plant-based food purchase intentions through the ANOVA procedure. Our findings revealed that in heterogenous households (households with different dietary lifestyles), the presence of a non-omnivore individual in the household was associated with higher plant-based food purchase intentions of the omnivore respondents. Further, the number of individuals with alternative diets in the household did not have any additive effect towards consumers’ purchase intention. Our study thus underscores the role of household composition on shaping dietary choices and highlights the potential for households with non-omnivores to drive shifts towards plant-based food consumption. Finally, this study suggests that focusing on the relationships among heterogeneous households (and not only on the number of cohabitants with varying dietary lifestyles) can promote plant-based consumption and meat reduction behaviors.

Rini, L., Bayudan, S., Faber, I., Frøst, M. B., Perez-Cueto, F. J. A., Guadarrama, E., Schouteten, J. J., & De Steur, H. (2025). Diverse dietary lifestyles within households increase purchase intentions for plant-based food. Food Quality and Preference, 127, 105453. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.foodqual.2025.105453 

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Background

Over the past two decades, there has been an increase in the prevalence of psychological conditions, such as depression, anxiety, disordered eating, and body image disturbances. In concert with this trend, there was a substantial rise in the advocacy and practice of restrictive dietary patterns, such as veganism and vegetarianism. These parallel developments suggest a relation between diet and mental health, but to date, research has failed to offer clear answers on whether these associations are causal, coincidental, or more complex than superficial analyses suggest.

Aim

Given this context, the purpose of this commentary is to offer a consilient perspective on the role of vegan and vegetarian diets in mental health.

Methods

We performed a broad qualitative synthesis of the current literature on diet and mental health from sociologic and psychologic perspectives.

Results

Several empirically supported hypotheses were presented with equivocal support.

Conclusion

The current evidence suggests that if a nutritionally adequate diet is consumed, the avoidance/consumption of meat and other animal foods will have no significant effects on physical and mental health.

Dobersek, U., Lavie, C. J., & Archer, E. (2025). Eating to live well-Or worse? The role of vegan and vegetarian diets in mental health. Nutrition and Health (Berkhamsted, Hertfordshire), 2601060241300563. https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1177/02601060241300563 

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Dietary transition provides a promising demand-side strategy for sustainable development, although challenges lie in balancing the trade-offs between human health, environmental sustainability and economic affordability. Our study revisits the trade-offs through the perspective of population heterogeneity. Specifically, transitioning the Chinese diet from its 2011 baseline to a healthier alternative with minimal behavioral adjustments could intensify environmental and economic impacts by 1.3–2.3 times. Conversely, relaxing behavioral constraints can yield both environmental and economic benefits. Specifically, replacing red meats (beef, mutton, pork) with poultry and seafood helps reduce cost, while substituting both red meats and seafood with more poultry, fruits, and vegetables enhances environmental benefits. However, this adaptive approach is not universally applicable. Stringent constraints aimed at mitigating environmental or economic impacts may inadvertently marginalize specific groups, such as the rural, elderly, or low-income populations, denying them the advantages of healthier dietary options. These findings highlight the necessity of developing inclusive strategies that support the healthy dietary shift of vulnerable groups.

Zhang, L., Zheng, X., Liu, W., & Ma, L. (2025). More habitual deviation alleviates the trade‐offs between dietary health, environmental impacts, and economic cost. Journal of Industrial Ecology. https://doi.org/10.1111/jiec.13617 

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This study explores the complexities of cognitive dissonance in the fashion industry, specifically examining consumer choices between animal-based leather and vegan leather. By exploring consumers’ diverse attitudes toward these materials, the research aims to understand the cognitive imbalances individuals experience when weighing ecological concerns against their material preferences. Utilizing netnography—a methodology that examines online community opinions—the study investigates how users perceive and resolve cognitive dissonance arising from conflicting choices between animal-based and vegan leather. Through comprehensive analysis and categorization, this research highlights the intricate decision-making processes of consumers in the realm of leather-based fashion items. It provides insights into the interplay of ethical, environmental, and practical considerations guiding their choices.

Choi, Y.-H., & Lee, S. (2025). Vegan fashion paradox: Understanding cognitive dissonance in consumer choices. Fashion Theory, 1–30. https://doi.org/10.1080/1362704X.2025.2454082 

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Objectives

This study investigates the relation between explicit and implicit attitude measures toward vegetarian and meat-based foods and sustainable, specifically vegetarian food consumption behavior. Moreover, attitude preferences and differences between the nutrition groups of vegetarians/ vegans and omnivores were examined. In addition, the possible relationships between specific facets of dispositional mindfulness and explicit and implicit attitudes and nutrition behavior measures were explored.

Methods

This is a cross-sectional online study. Two hundred sixty-one participants completed a dispositional mindfulness questionnaire, explicit and implicit nutrition attitude measurements, and nutrition behavior assessments.

Results

We found a strong correlation between explicit and implicit attitude measures. Both nutrition groups showed an implicit preference for vegetarian over meat-based foods. However, the group of vegetarians/ vegans explicitly preferred vegetarian foods and vegetarianism in almost all explicit attitude measures. In contrast, the findings in the group of omnivores were rather heterogeneous. Furthermore, the results showed that measures of explicit and implicit attitudes, together with two facets of dispositional mindfulness (Outer Awareness and Insight), predicted the vegetarian choice in the online supermarket scenario, indicating positive relationships, except for Insight.

Conclusion

Our findings suggest a correspondence of explicit and implicit attitudes toward vegetarian foods and highlight their role in vegetarian nutrition behavior. In addition, we underscore the potential role of dispositional mindfulness and mindfulness interventions in promoting vegetarian consumption behavior. As there are attitude differences in the nutrition groups, the primary target group for mindfulness interventions should be individuals following an omnivorous diet.

Winkelmair, A., Schroter, F. A., & Jansen, P. (2025). Vegetarian and sustainable food consumption behavior: Exploring the relation to explicit and implicit attitudes toward vegetarian foods and dispositional mindfulness. Appetite, 206, 107847. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.appet.2024.107847 

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It is widely accepted that the (over)consumption of meat is negatively linked to environmental problems and public health issues, yet research shows that actual meat consumption remains (too) high. While most research related to the protein transition focuses on consumers’ motivations, perceptions and acceptance towards plant-based meat alternatives, a clear need arises to extensively study the context in which (plant-based) meals are consumed. In this research, a generative research approach was applied to extend knowledge on flexitarian households’ meat reduction practices. Participants (n = 30) from different household types completed assignments with their household members to reflect on their households’ meat consumption and reduction practices over the course of a full week. After this sensitizing week, participants were interviewed about their meat reduction practices. Results show that participants high in cooking skills and interest are searching for, or have developed, a practice of reformulating their meals into ‘complete’ or ‘authentic’ vegetarian meals which entails a different culinary experience compared to meat-based meals. They usually avoided meat analogues, and used products such as pulses, cheeses, nuts and herbs to create tasty and satiating ‘complete’ vegetarian meals. However, participants with less available resources like time and skills used meat analogues as convenient replacers of meat. Partners and children had a strong influence on the households’ formation of meat reduction practices, as their preferences resulted in compromises regarding the households’ meat consumption frequency and types of meals consumed. In conclusion, this research provides unique insights into flexitarian households’ meat reduction practices, and fuels the discussion on the role of meat analogues and the consumers’ need for ‘complete’ and ‘authentic’ vegetarian meal experiences.

Groen, A. P. J. P., Fogliano, V., & Steenbekkers, L. P. A. B. (2025). We are a family! Exploring flexitarian households’ meat reduction practices. Appetite, 107860. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.appet.2025.107860 

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