New study: So­cial eat­ers con­sume more meat

What makes us eat meat? And do we put pork on our fork in certain situations – but not in others?

That was the question an international research team set out to answer. The team included Visiting Professor Wencke Gwozdz from CBS. Their aim was to examine the small but decisive food choices we make when we pick up a shopping basket or sit down with a knife and fork.

The researchers asked 230 participants to record everything they ate. After 2,461 meals, a surprising pattern emerged. Our meat consumption is not driven by preferences, values or demographics. Instead, our choices depend on the context in which the meal takes place.

Participants in the study ate significantly more meat when they were with other people. They were also more likely to put meatballs and fillets on their plate when they were very hungry.

Social gatherings increase meat consumption

"The results show that it is first and foremost the social situation we are in during a meal that determines whether we eat meat. And that did come as a surprise to us," says Wencke Gwozdz.

When you eat alone, the likelihood increases that your plate will be filled with rocket, root vegetables and rice. When you eat together with others, it is more likely to be steak or bolognese.

According to the German-born professor, the team’s research suggests that meat still plays a deeply embedded cultural role as the safe and expected choice when we eat together. Meals without meat, by contrast, may require more explanation.

"The social aspect is interesting because our results showed that it mattered in two ways. First, participants were more likely to eat meat when they were with others. In addition, those who ate many meals in the company of others also had a higher overall meat consumption. Social contexts therefore influence behaviour both in the short and the long term," Wencke Gwozdz points out.

Future campaigns should change focus

Another striking finding is that traditional background factors such as age, gender, income and household size have no measurable impact on how often we eat meat.

"This challenges our traditional understanding of consumer behaviour. Perhaps demographic-based segmentation is not the right approach when it comes to eating habits," says Wencke Gwozdz.

Instead, she and her colleagues argue that future campaigns should focus on the specific situation in which the meal is consumed – not on the individual consumer.

In other words, if situational factors drive our meat consumption, it is unlikely to be sufficient to communicate rational messages about general climate or health advice.

New technology can refine insights

Wencke Gwozdz emphasises that she and her team have a clear ambition to carry out further measurements to gain deeper insights into our eating habits.

"As consumers, we are often more inconsistent than we think. We make many unconscious choices. And even when we understand what has led to our actions, we often forget it again quickly. That is why, as researchers, we need to stay very close to consumers in order to obtain reliable data," says Wencke Gwozdz.

In the current research project, participants kept a diary three times a day. In future studies, the visiting professor hopes to use GPS, sensors and other technologies that can be installed on participants’ mobile phones.

"We are very close to having technology that can track movements in such detail that it can tell us when a participant is eating. That would allow us to contact them in the moment and perhaps gain even more insight into their choices," she explains.