Understanding the effect of social norms and environmental messaging on influencing acceptance of cultivated meat in the UK

Singh, H ORCID: 0009-0000-4049-5958, Keenan, GS ORCID: 0000-0002-3940-7401, Di Lemma, L and Cousins, R (2026) Understanding the effect of social norms and environmental messaging on influencing acceptance of cultivated meat in the UK. Appetite, 222. ISSN 0195-6663

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Abstract

Cultivated meat represents an emerging approach to food production, yet its consumer adoption remains uncertain. Using an experimental mixed design, this study examined the impact of different informational messages on five indicators of cultivated meat acceptance in the UK (trying, wanting, liking, buying and incorporating into diet). A total of 346 participants (M = 25.6 years, 65% female) were randomly assigned to one of four conditions: General Information, Social Norms, Environmental Impact, and Combined (integrating social norms and environmental impact). A questionnaire was used to ascertain baseline knowledge and participants' views of cultivated meat before and after viewing three condition-specific posters for 30 s each. Non-parametric analyses were conducted to examine changes across acceptance indicators following message exposure. Social norms messaging significantly increased participants’ likelihood of liking (Z = −2.88, p = .004), buying (Z = −2.39, p = .017), and incorporating cultivated meat into their diet (Z = −2.22, p = .026). Environmental impact messaging showed inconsistent effects, while the combined information showed a positive trend only on a few measures of acceptance. The general information condition showed significant decreases in participants' likelihood to try (Z = −2.43, p = .015) and want (Z = −2.65, p = .008) cultivated meat. These findings suggest that social norms may play a particularly important role in shaping acceptance of cultivated meat and that strategically emphasising normative cues may be more effective than providing non-targeted or purely environmental information.

Item Type:	Article
Uncontrolled Keywords:	Cultivated meat; Social norms; Messaging; Consumer acceptance; UK; Willingness to try; Consumer acceptance; Cultivated meat; Messaging; Social norms; UK; Willingness to try; 38 Economics; 4104 Environmental Management; 41 Environmental Sciences; Clinical Research; Nutrition & Dietetics
Subjects:	B Philosophy. Psychology. Religion > BF Psychology
Divisions:	Psychology (from Sep 2019)
Publisher:	Elsevier
Date of acceptance:	26 March 2026
Date of first compliant Open Access:	30 April 2026
Date Deposited:	30 Apr 2026 10:16
Last Modified:	30 Apr 2026 10:16
DOI or ID number:	10.1016/j.appet.2026.108552
URI:	https://researchonline.ljmu.ac.uk/id/eprint/28498

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