Kim So-Young, Maeng Min Hyun
Department of Food Science and Nutrition, Soonchunhyang University, Asan 31538, Republic of Korea.
Department of Consumer Behavior and Family Economics, University of Wisconsin, Madison, WI 53706, USA.
Nutrients. 2025 Aug 14;17(16):2637. doi: 10.3390/nu17162637.
Sustainability discussions are increasingly highlighting the environmental and health impacts of meat production and consumption. The study aimed to analyze how meat attachment influences the intention to reduce meat consumption among young adults, considering the moderating role of environmental attitude. An online survey was conducted from 27 April to 1 May 2022, among young Korean adults in their 20s, and 1478 responses were collected. The survey questionnaire assessed the participants' (1) meat attachment (hedonism, affinity, entitlement, and dependence), (2) environmental attitude, (3) intention to reduce meat consumption, and (4) socio-demographics. Hierarchical multiple regressions were performed to explore the associations between meat attachment and the intention to reduce meat consumption, controlling for the participants' socio-demographic characteristics. The moderating effect of environmental attitude on the associations was assessed using the PROCESS macro. The results showed that, among the four subscales of meat attachment, affinity (β = 0.103, < 0.001) and dependence (β = -0.201, < 0.001) significantly predicted the intention to reduce meat consumption. In contrast, hedonism (β = -0.007, = 0.831) and entitlement (β = 0.019, = 0.509) exhibited no significant associations. Additionally, environmental attitude significantly moderated the associations between both affinity (interaction β = 0.135, = 0.001) and dependence (interaction β = -0.159, < 0.001) and the intention to reduce meat consumption. Overall, this study suggests that addressing meat dependence and affinity could be crucial for encouraging a reduction in meat consumption. Additionally, raising environmental attitude among younger adults may be needed before encouraging meat reductions. Given the limited research conducted in Asian contexts, this study offers a valuable foundation for the development of future educational interventions targeting sustainability concerns associated with meat consumption.
可持续性讨论越来越多地强调肉类生产和消费对环境和健康的影响。该研究旨在分析肉类依恋如何影响年轻人减少肉类消费的意愿，并考虑环境态度的调节作用。2022年4月27日至5月1日，对20多岁的韩国年轻成年人进行了一项在线调查，共收集到1478份回复。调查问卷评估了参与者的（1）肉类依恋（享乐主义、亲近感、权利感和依赖感）、（2）环境态度、（3）减少肉类消费的意愿以及（4）社会人口统计学特征。进行了分层多元回归分析，以探讨肉类依恋与减少肉类消费意愿之间的关联，并控制参与者的社会人口统计学特征。使用PROCESS宏评估环境态度对这些关联的调节作用。结果表明，在肉类依恋的四个子量表中，亲近感（β = 0.103，p < 0.001）和依赖感（β = -0.201，p < 0.001）显著预测了减少肉类消费的意愿。相比之下，享乐主义（β = -0.007，p = 0.831）和权利感（β = 0.019，p = 0.509）未显示出显著关联。此外，环境态度显著调节了亲近感（交互作用β = 0.135，p = 0.001）和依赖感（交互作用β = -0.159，p < 0.001）与减少肉类消费意愿之间的关联。总体而言，本研究表明，解决肉类依赖感和亲近感对于鼓励减少肉类消费可能至关重要。此外，在鼓励减少肉类消费之前，可能需要提高年轻人的环境态度。鉴于在亚洲背景下进行的研究有限，本研究为未来针对与肉类消费相关的可持续性问题开展教育干预提供了有价值的基础。
