How Do We Know What We Know About Consumer Attitudes Towards Meat Sustainability? A Scoping Review of Studies...

This scoping review characterizes research on consumer attitudes towards meat sustainability, with a focus on environmental impact and animal welfare, from peer-reviewed articles and gray literature sources published globally between 2010-2022.

Consumers are important levers of change for advancing meat sustainability. While more narrowly focused systematic reviews exist, consumer attitudes are complex and this area is methodologically diverse. Analysis of 512 peer-reviewed articles and 31 gray literature sources revealed growth in this area since 2010. Included studies spanned 65 countries, with more representation from higher-income countries, especially in earlier years. Consumer attitudes are multidimensional, which is reflected in the wide array of attitudinal constructs and methodological approaches in this literature. Most studies examined consumer attitudes towards multiple species or towards meat or livestock in general. While climate impacts were the most commonly studied specific sustainability consideration, lending some support to the "carbon tunnel vision" hypothesis, the most common approach was to study environmental impact or animal welfare only at a general level, which we characterize as a "blurred vision"-a lack of focus on specific sustainability considerations, and their complexity and tradeoffs. Peer-reviewed and gray literature sources offer complementary perspectives, with many gray literature sources leveraging large public opinion polls and many peer-reviewed articles studying the mechanisms behind these polls. We recommend engaging broadly with multiple methodological approaches, and with both peer-reviewed and gray literature. Advancing the sustainability of animal agriculture requires the exchange of research findings across multiple scientific disciplines and sectors.