Naming the one to save the many: The effect of animal identifiability on children's reduced meat preference

This research examines how identifying an animal as an individual influences children's willingness to consume that animal, as well as meat derived from conspecifics and different species. Across two studies involving Polish preschoolers aged 5-6 (Study 1: N = 94; Study 2: N = 105), we examined whether presenting a chicken with a name and distinct preferences would reduce children's willingness to consume that specific animal, as well as their preference for chicken meat (poultry) and meat from a different species (pork) during a toy sandwich-building task. Study 2 further compared two forms of identification: unique exemplar identification versus similar exemplar identification (highlighting traits shared with the species). Results consistently revealed that identifying a unique exemplar had a conditional effect on willingness to consume the identified animal and its conspecifics, but did not extend to meat from other species. Animal's identifiability reduced both children's intentions to consume the identified animal (Study 1) and their actual preference for chicken slices in the sandwich-building task (Studies 1 and 2). However, these effects emerged among children who did not report a strong liking for meat. Overall, the findings suggest that although animal identifiability can reduce children's intentions to consume meat, its impact is moderated by preexisting food preferences and shows limited generalization across species.