Meat Reduction in 5 to 8 Years Old Children-A Survey to Investigate the Role of Parental Meat Attachment

Julia Erhardt*, Annemarie Olsen*

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journalJournal articleResearchpeer-review

14 Citations (Scopus)
27 Downloads (Pure)

Abstract

It is by now well established that a plant-based and meatless or reduced-meat diet is an important contribution to a sustainability and healthy diet. This work discusses important determinants for parents of implementing a meat reduced diet for their children. A questionnaire was conducted with 90 parents of children aged 5-8 years living in Germany, where they had to choose one out of three options of a dish, namely meaty, reduced meat and no meat, for their child. The results show that the parent's attachment to meat and the associated attitudes and habits play a crucial role in their meal choice and therefore eating behaviour, including consumed amounts of meat, of their child. Moreover, perceived tastiness, healthiness and balanced serving style, as well as the child's preferences influences the parent's decision. The findings of this work provide valuable insights to the food industry and food producers, health professionals and public health, as it highlights the background, as well as some drivers and barriers for parents choosing a dish with less meat for their children.

Original languageEnglish
Article number1756
JournalFoods
Volume10
Issue number8
Number of pages24
ISSN2304-8158
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 2021

Keywords

  • meat-reduction
  • children
  • eating behaviour
  • sustainability
  • healthy
  • Germany
  • food choice
  • food preference

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