Correlates of the Intention to Reduce One’s Meat Consumption

Abstract

Meat consumption is one of the behaviors significantly contributing to environmental damage. Reduced meat consumption can therefore be regarded sustainable behavior. On the basis of the Theory of Planned Behavior, we examined to which extent one’s attitudes, subjective norm, and perceived behavioral control predict the intention to reduce one’s own meat consumption. The sample was recruited in 2015 (n = 257) and 2017 (n = 231). It consisted of employees and university students. Results of a linear regression analysis revealed that the intention to reduce one’s own meat consumption was predicted statistically significantly by individuals’ attitude to reduce meat consumption and by their subjective norm, while perceived behavioral control did not play any significant role. These findings imply that the promotion of sustainable meat consumption needs to focus primarily on individuals’ attitudes on meat consumption. Future research should include additional consumer groups to ensure ecological validity of the findings