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F2b Consumer [Mis]Perceptions of the Healthfulness of Plant-Based Meat Alternatives and the Moderating Role of Objective Nutrition Information
Short Description
In limited information decision-making environments like restaurants, consumers are forced to make health inferences from what is available on the menu or in promotional materials. This is increasingly important as plant-based meat alternatives (PBMAs) become available at a growing number of restaurants, with their supposed health benefits widely promoted. Accordingly, now is an important time to examine how consumers perceive the overall healthiness and health risks associated with these products. Across three experiments, we find that consumers believe PBMAs are healthier than they objectively, healthier than traditional meat, and reduce disease risk relative to traditional meat. Further, we show that the currently accepted intervention of calorie labeling does not work to reduce this “health halo,” but providing full nutritional labeling with a comparative reference label (e.g., of a real burger) can reduce the effect of these erroneous perceptions. This “health halo” suggests that the inferences formed with the limited information available at the point of purchase have numerous implications for public health, sustainable consumerism, and public policy decisions.
Type of presentation
Accepted Oral Presentation