Redefining normal: The perceived normality of low and no meat diets and implications for sustainable dietary behaviour change

In the global north, high rates of meat consumption are contributing to multiple harms related to human health, animal welfare, and the natural environment. Alongside policy and economic changes, alleviating these harms requires substantial reductions in meat consumption. Meat consumption in the global north is a social norm, which appears to be shifting with reported increases in low and no meat (LNM) diets. However, the perceived normality of LNM diets – and any behavioural implications of these perceptions – remains relatively unexplored. This thesis aims to explore perceptions about LNM diets, and the individuals who follow them. Additionally, the effect of perceived LNM dietary norms on food choice behaviour was investigated. Five empirical studies were conducted to address these research aims, spanning several disciplines – primarily psychology, but incorporating elements of sociology, communications, and media studies.

Study one (Chapter Four) used a thematic analysis to explore representations of LNM diets on Twitter. Across two different samples (UK population and UK university staff and students), studies two and three (Chapter Five) used a between-subjects free association task and vignettes to explore and compare perceptions about meat reducers, vegetarians, and habitual meat consumers. Findings of these three studies indicated that positive representations of LNM diets were the most common on Twitter, and there was a high perceived prevalence of LNM diets among the samples of studies two and three. Furthermore, LNM diets and those who follow them, were associated with largely positive traits. Perceived commonness was considered indicative of descriptive norms, and positive perceptions were considered indicative of injunctive norms. Taken together, the results of these three studies suggest that LNM diets, and those who follow them, are increasingly perceived as normal.

Studies four (Chapter Six) and five (Chapter Seven) used naturalistic social norms interventions to assess the role of perceived LNM norms on meat and meatless food purchases. Study four was conducted at a university food outlet in Aotearoa New Zealand. Study five used several modes of social norms message delivery and was conducted at three food outlets at a UK university. Across both studies, there were no significant differences in meat or meatless food purchases resulting from the intervention. These findings may be due to a number of factors inherent in applied food choice research, as well as limited available resources. Further research – with access to larger teams with wider expertise, time, and funds - is required to explore the generalisability of these findings.