Poultry brands can help ease Generation Z’s concerns about the environmental impact of the global food supply chain by sharing more information about sustainability and animal welfare goals with consumers.
“College students are still interested in eating meat. They’re interested in eating plant-based alternatives. Some of it is because of the novelty, some of it because they are sincerely interested in a more environmentally sustainable food, but they still want to eat meat,” Donna Winham, Assistant professor, Food science and human nutrition, Iowa State University, said.
The perceived health benefits of poultry products over other animal proteins may also be a draw, as well as blended meat products, she explained.
The oldest members of Generation Z are beginning to graduate college and start jobs, which means their purchasing choices are becoming increasingly influential. This generation, alongside millennials, places a large emphasis on values like sustainability when making purchasing decisions, which could have a major impact on product sales going forward.
Complicating measures, the term sustainability is has transformed into more than just the environmental impact of a product for many consumers. It now also encompasses animal welfare, social and other issues.
Attitudes on plant-based proteins
Winham recently surveyed 1,500 college students aged 18-30 about their attitudes on plant-based proteins. The results were published in the Journal of Nutrition Education and Behavior.
More than half of the respondents indicated that they had tried meat alternatives at least once. The individuals that regularly ate plant-based proteins rated themselves as environmentally conscious and were more likely to be vegetarian and attend Iowa State University as an out-of-state student.
“I think part of it is being trendy when it comes to sustainability, but I also think there’s a core change going on about trying to have our food be more responsible,” said Winham.
Iowa’s deep ties to agriculture and farm production could explain help the significant differences in plant-based protein acceptance between in-state and out-of-state students, she suggested.
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