Disgust for Sustainable Food Alternatives: Psychological Barriers to Diet Transition

Abstract

Sustainable food alternatives such as insects, mycoprotein, and cultured meat have the potential to transform the environmental impact of present food systems, yet psychological barriers like disgust impede the widespread acceptance of these foods. Activation of the behavioral immune system may contribute to the disgust response and subsequent rejection of these foods. However, framing sustainable food alternatives as either high-status or low-status may mitigate these negative perceptions. In the first study, fabricated news articles were used to introduce participants to sustainable food alternatives and a self-report survey was used to measure the relationship between perceived vulnerability to disease, and disgust and willingness to consume. In the second study, sustainable food alternatives were framed in the articles as either high or low status to understand how this may change perceptions of the foods. Germ aversion, a subcategory of perceived vulnerability to disease, predicted greater disgust and reduced willingness to consume, although findings were more robust in Study 2 than in Study 1. Additionally, results demonstrated that insects consistently elicited increased disgust and decreased willingness to consume when compared to mycoprotein and cultured meat. Except for an increased willingness to consume cultured meat in the low-status framing condition, status framing did not affect disgust or willingness to consume. These results indicate that while germ aversion may influence the disgust and rejection of sustainable food alternatives, strategies beyond status framing may be necessary for promoting their acceptance. Future research should consider interventions that reduce the impact of germ aversion on consumer decision making.