The Dutch market for meat substitutes has grown steadily, however, their market share is still low, and meat consumption in the Netherlands is not decreasing. For a transition towards a more plant-based diet, understanding consumer motives regarding meat substitutes is important. The purpose of this study was to explore what motives lay behind the appropriateness of the use of meat substitutes in different usagesituations.
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High consumption of animal-source foods, specifically meat, adversely affects human health and the environment. Dietary habits are shaped at younger ages and a reduction in meat consumption may be facilitated by the life course transitions in early adulthood, but studies are limited. This study among young Dutch adults aimed to describe their perceptions on the influence of life course transitions on meat consumption, barriers and enablers to reduce meat consumption, and strategies for reducing meat consumption. Barriers and enablers were grouped applying the COM-B model that includes capability, opportunity, and motivation. This quantitative cross-sectional study included a representative sample of 1806 young adults from two Dutch consumer panels who completed an online survey. Young adults frequently reported life course transitions, especially those related to moving house, to have decreased their meat consumption. Barriers and enablers to reduce meat consumption were identified for all three factors of the COM-B model. Important barriers included taste, perceived high prices of meat alternatives, and habits. In contrast, important enablers included care for the environment and animal welfare, enjoyment of smaller portions of meat and saving money. However, barriers and enablers largely differed by groups of meat consumption frequency. Self-perceived effective strategies for reducing meat consumption were price reduction of meat alternatives, recipes for vegetarian meals, and more attractive meat alternatives. The findings of this study are relevant for the development of targeted behaviour-change programmes including interventions in the physical and the social environment (like lowering prices and improving the offer of meat alternatives).
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Due to a growing challenge to feed the world’s population and an increased awareness to minimize the impact of our food choices on climate change, a more plant-based diet has gained popularity with a growing number of plant-based products on the market. To stimulate a plant-based diet that also improves long-term health, data are needed to monitor whether these products are healthy alternatives to animal-based foods. Therefore, this study inventoried 916 plant-based meat, fish, and dairy alternatives from eight Dutch supermarkets. The nutritional quality of each product was assessed by (1) the Dutch food-based dietary guidelines and (2) the Nutri-Score. The results show that over 70% of meat, fish, and dairy alternatives have an A/B Nutri-Score (indicating high nutritional quality), but do not comply with the Dutch dietary guidelines. This is mainly due to high salt and low vitamin B12 and iron content (meat and fish alternatives) or low protein and calcium levels (dairy alternatives). In conclusion, the majority of plant-based products are nutritionally not full alternatives of the animal-based equivalents; however, there are still opportunities for reformulation. To aid the consumer in making healthy plant-based food choices, a better alignment between the Nutri-Score and the recommended dietary guidelines is needed.
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Vlees eten is geworteld in onze eetcultuur. Het minderen van vlees vraagt tijd. Ondanks campagnes die plantaardige diëten promoten eet volgens CBS nog zo’n 95% van de Nederlanders vlees, en de meeste daarvan doen dat meerdere keren per week als een stukje vlees bij de maaltijd. Om op kortere termijn een verschil te maken, zal het stimuleren van consumentenkeuzes voor duurzaam geproduceerd vlees in belangrijke mate bijdragen aan “minder en beter”. Dit vraagt om specifieke tactieken, wetende dat consumenten in hun gedrag niet altijd doen dan wat hun intentie is met betrekking tot duurzaamheid: de wil is er, maar vertaalt zich onvoldoende in koopgedrag. Om dit te overkomen zijn marketinginterventies nodig die de capaciteit, gelegenheid en motivatie van consumenten verhogen/versterken. Deze rapportage bevat de resultaten – op hoofdlijnen – van een kwalitatief onderzoek, waarin types en empathy maps van verschillende consumententypen en hun meest onderscheidende variabelen in kaart zijn gebracht.
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Trends in eiwittransitie kunnen regionaal verschillen. In groeiende economieën verschuiven diëten wereldwijd van plantaardige naar dierlijke eiwitten. In veel economisch ontwikkelde regio's gebeurt echter het tegenovergestelde vanwege de zorg voor milieu en gezondheid. Wij onderzochten de relatie tussen vijf drijvende krachten en eiwittransitietrends zoals deze worden ervaren door jongvolwassenen in ontwikkelde regio's in China (Shanghai) en Nederland (Amsterdam, lees: de Randstad). De onderzochte drijvende krachten waren: milieubewustzijn; het beleid; cultuur; geld; en gezondheid. De gegevens zijn verkregen door 200 vragenlijsten te laten beantwoorden in beide regio's. De resultaten geven aan dat jongvolwassenen in Shanghai meer dierlijke eiwitten consumeren dan plantaardige eiwitten, maar dat er een verandering naar plantaardige eiwitten is ingezet, terwijl de trend van jongvolwassenen in Amsterdam om plantaardig eiwit te consumeren al verder ontwikkeld is. De rangschikking van de drijvende krachten in Shanghai was Geld＞ Milieubewustzijn＞ Gezondheid＞ Cultuur＞ Beleid, en in Amsterdam Gezondheid＞ Milieubewustzijn＞ Geld＞ Beleid＞ Cultuur. Eiwitkeuzes in de voeding van jongvolwassenen worden dus in Shanghai door andere drijvende krachten bepaald dan in Amsterdam
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Even in a less eventful year, it’s no easy feat: working to make our food supply healthy and sustainable. But 2020 brought a spate of new challenges. It was the year of Brexit, Black Lives Matter, and the COVID-19 pandemic. A year of hope and loss and solidarity, of masks and worries and Zoom calls. Of infection sweeping through the meatpacking industry and sometimes, of empty supermarket shelves. It was also the year that brought us the glimmering realisation that everything could be different. When so much has changed – how we work, who we spend time with, how far we venture from home – what all might be possible for food and for farming? In Flevo Campus’s latest collection of essays, thirteen journalists, scholars, and thought leaders from the US, the Netherlands, and the UK share insight into the question: How can we build resilience into our food supply – and grow more resilient ourselves? Every year, Flevo Campus publishes the best work on feeding the cities of today and tomorrow. This year’s edition includes essays by Stephen Satterfield, Charles C. Mann, Herman Lelieveldt, Hester Dibbits, Kelly Streekstra, Sigrid Wertheim-Heck, Anke Brons, Joris Lohman, Sebastiaan Aalst, Marian Stuiver, Frank Verhoeven, Emily Whyman, and Lenno Munnikes.
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This paper describes a study into consumers' reasons for buying socially responsible (SR) products, such as Fair Trade products and organic meat. As opposed to other studies, we use a qualitative approach based on 25 in-depth interviews and include several different products in the research. This leads to several new results, such as: (1) buying SR products is perceived as an imperfect moral duty; (2) low quality of SR products is a dissatisfier, but high quality not a satisfier; (3) the attitude towards SR products is related to the reputation of charitable funds; (4) the demand for SR products is negatively related to the frequency of purchasing SR products; (5) reflection on SR products raises the demand for SR products; (6) consumers that have witnessed the social problems that SR products aim to alleviate purchase more SR products. Finally, we find that the demand for different SR products is correlated: if a consumer buys one SR product, it is more likely that (s)he purchases other SR products as well.
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Obesity and other lifestyle-related diseases are, amongst others, the result of an unbalanced diet and lifestyle. Excessive intake of energy, salt, saturated fat and sugar are leading to increased risk of chronic diseases, such as cardiovascular diseases, cancer and diabetes (WHO/FAO). Therefore, a healthier food intake (diet) is needed. But when is a food product healthier? From a nutritional perspective it is clear: the lower the levels of nutrients with a negative public health impact, the better the product fits in a healthy diet. However, when it comes to improving the health impact of the food supply through reformulation, other aspects are important as well. This article describes the ‘framework for product reformulation’, which integrates four essential disciplines: Nutrition & health, Foodtechnology, Legislation and Consumer perspective.
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The current food environment in The Netherlands is considered obesogenic. Eighty percent of the products in supermarkets are unhealthy. The Wheel of Five is the well-established, science-based Dutch food-based dietary guideline (FBDG) developed to stimulate healthier choices. In addition, simple directions on food packaging, such as front-of-package (FOP) health logos, could also be helpful. However, these tools should be in line with each other, in order not to confuse the consumer. To study this, we evaluated two FOP nutrient profiling systems (NPSs) for their alignment with the Wheel of Five: Choices five-level criteria and Nutri-Score. For this, a small but representative sample of 124 products was selected from the Dutch food composition database (NEVO). For these products, the scores for Choices and Nutri-Score were calculated using the published criteria, whilecompliance with the Wheel of Five was established by using the criteria from Netherlands Nutrition Center (NNC). The Wheel of Five food groups were used to categorize the products. Differences between the Wheel of Five and Choices are smaller than with Nutri-Score, concluding that Choices ismore consistent with the Wheel of Five and might be an attractive alternation for a FOP health logo on the Dutch market.
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