Can we cut out the meat of the dish? Constructing consumer-oriented pathways toward meat substitution

The shift towards a more sustainable diet necessitates less reliance on foods of animal origin. This study presents data from a representative survey of Dutch consumers on their practices related to meat, meat substitution and meat reduction. The practices reflected a cultural gradient of meat substitution options running from other products of animal origin and conventional meat free meals to real vegetarian meals. To investigate feasible substitution options, a variety of meals without meat were presented using photos, which were rated by the participants in terms of attractiveness and chances that they would prepare a similar meal at home. The results demonstrated the influence of meal formats, product familiarity, cooking skills, preferences for plant-based foods and motivational orientations towards food. In particular, a lack of familiarity and skill hampered the preparation of real vegetarian meals. Based on the findings we propose a diversified understanding of meat substitution and we specify four policy-relevant pathways for a transition towards a more plant-based diet, including an incremental change towards more health-conscious vegetarian meals, a pathway that utilizes the trend towards convenience, a pathway of reduced portion size, and practice-oriented change towards vegetarian meals. © 2011 Elsevier Ltd

Climate change and meat eating: An inconvenient couple?

This paper addresses the relationship between meat eating and climate change focusing on motivational explanations of environmentally-relevant consumer behavior. Based on a sample of 1,083 Dutch consumers, it examines their responses to the idea that they can make a big difference to nature and climate protection by choosing one or more meals without meat every week. This idea can be seen as a new opportunity to help mitigation, but also as a counterproductive message that might trigger negative responses among consumers who are skeptical about climate change. As hypothesized, the meat-free meal idea was received more positively by consumers who valued care for nature and more negatively by those who did not value it. Also as hypothesized, the meat-free meal idea was received more negatively by consumers who were skeptical about the seriousness of climate change. The idea was not received more positively by those who did take it seriously. The results support the notion that the meat-free meal idea may serve as a counterproductive message. From the perspective of motivation, it is preferable not to isolate the meat-climate issue but to develop an approach that combines multiple values regarding food choices, including health and nature-related values

Motivational differences in food orientation and the choice of snacks made from lentils, locusts, seaweed or "hybrid" meat

The recently developed Food Choice Motives (FCMs) questionnaire was used in a survey among a sample from the general population in the Netherlands (n = 1083) to examine the relationship between motivational differences in food orientation and the choice of snacks made from environmentally-friendly proteins (i.e. lentils, locusts, seaweed or "hybrid" meat). The results show that there is room for a change to a diet with more environmentally friendly proteins, with the exception of insects. As hypothesized, there were important differences between consumers depending on the level and direction of involvement with food. The study identified potential "trendsetters" who appreciated authentic sources of proteins, such as lentils and seaweed, but who were less likely to choose a product that is not pure but hybrid. A hybrid meat product may be acceptable to lowly involved consumers but they will not actively search for more environmentally friendly proteins

Triage conducted by lay-staff and emergency training reduces paediatric mortality in the emergency department of a rural hospital in Northern Mozambique

Introduction The majority of emergency paediatric death in African countries occur within the first 24 h of admission. A coloured triage system is widely implemented in high-income countries and the emergency triage and assessment treatment (ETAT) is recommended by the World Health Organization, but not put into practice in Mozambique. We implemented a three-colour triage system in a rural district hospital with lay-staff workers conducting the first triage. Methods A retrospective, before and after, mortality analysis was performed using routine patient files from the district hospital between 2014 and 2017. The triage system was implemented in August 2016. Inclusion criteria were children under 15 years of age that entered the emergency centre. Primary outcome was child mortality rate. Secondary outcomes included the percentage agreement between the clinical and non-clinical staff and the duration from triage to first treatment. We used a negative binomial model in STATA 15 to compare mortality rates, and Kappa statistics to estimate the agreement between clinical and non-clinical staff. Results 4176 admissions were included. The mortality rate ratio (MMR) was 45% lower after the start of the intervention (2016; MRR = 0.55; 0.38, 0.81; p = 0.002), compared to before. To estimate the agreement between non-clinical and clinical staff, 548 (of the 671) patient files were included. The agreement was estimated at 88.7% (Kappa = 0.644; p < 0.001). The median waiting time decreased with urgency of the triage: 2 h33 for ‘green’/least serious (IQR 1 h58-3 h30), 21 min for yellow/serious (IQR 0 h10-0 h58) and nine minutes for ‘red’/urgent (IQR 2–40 min). Conclusion In a rural setting with nurse-led clinical care and non-clinician staff working at the triage reception, implementation of a three-coloured triage system was feasible. Triage and ETAT training was associated with a decrease of 45% of paediatric deaths. The impact on mortality, low cost, and ease of the implementation supports scaling this intervention in similar settings

Growth factors of stem cell niche extend the life-span of precision-cut intestinal slices in culture:A proof-of-concept study

Precision-cut intestinal slices (PCIS) is an ex vivo culture technique that found its applications in toxicology, drug transport and drug metabolism testing, as well as in fibrosis research. The main limiting factor of PCIS as experimental model is the relatively short viability of tissue slices. Here, we describe a strategy for extending the life-span of PCIS during culture using medium that is routinely used for growing intestinal organoids. Mouse and rat PCIS cultured in standard medium progressively showed low ATP/protein content and severe tissue degradation, indicating loss of tissue viability. In turn, organoid medium, containing epithelial growth factor (EGF), Noggin and R-spondin, maintained significantly higher ATP/protein levels and better preserved intestinal architecture of mouse PCIS at 96 h. In contrast, organoid medium that additionally contained Wnt, had a clear positive effect on the ATP content of rat PCIS during 24 h of culture, but not on slice histomorphology. Our proof-of-concept study provides early evidence that employing organoid medium for PCIS culture improved tissue viability during extended incubation. Enabling lasting PCIS cultures will greatly widen their range of applications in predicting long-term intestinal toxicity of xenobiotics and elucidating their mechanism of action, among others

Ruimte als schaars goed

Environmental Biology - ol