Details

Purpose: This symposium will present evidence on what policies and interventions show the most promise for reducing consumption of red and processed meat (herein ‘meat’), as well as the potential health and environmental benefits.

Rationale: According to the landmark ‘EAT-Lancet Commission on healthy diets from sustainable food systems,’ North Americans and Europeans are consuming more than the recommended amount of meat to stay within planetary boundaries. Thus, reducing meat consumption in these contexts is critical for achieving health and sustainability targets. Given that about half of grain produced globally is fed to animals, reductions in meat production and consumption can also have global impacts on food security. Yet little is known about what policies or interventions are effective at changing meat consumption behaviors at the population level on timescales needed to achieve net zero targets and the Sustainable Development Goals.

Objectives: To (1) advance our understanding of what policy and intervention options are effective for reducing meat consumption; and (2) understand the potential downstream health and environmental benefits of such policies and interventions to help facilitate adoption by decision-makers.

Summary: The Chair will present an overview of the topic, including global trends and determinants of meat consumption, spotlighting North America and Europe, where consumption is highest. Three presenters, representing the United Kingdom, the United States, and France, will then present findings from their original research on the effectiveness of specific policies and interventions to reduce meat purchases and consumption, and resultant health and environmental benefits. Finally, the Discussant will lead an open discussion about emergent policies from around the world aimed at reducing meat consumption, and research gaps and priorities for informing evidence-based policy.

Format:

Chair: Prof Lindsay Jaacks, University of Edinburgh (UK)

‘Trends and determinants of meat consumption’

Presenter 1: Dr Rachel Pechey, University of Oxford (UK)

‘Interventions to reduce meat consumption: Evaluations of eco-labelling and meat-free availability in worksite cafeterias’

Presenter 2: Dr Céline Bonnet, Toulouse School of Economics (France)

‘Meat sectors and carbon footprint taxes: what is the role of firms in climate mitigation?’

Presenter 3: Dr Joe Kennedy, University of Edinburgh (UK)

‘Health effects of reductions in red and processed meat consumption in the United States: A microsimulation study’

Discussant: Dr Lindsey Smith Taillie, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill (USA)

‘Emergent policies to reduce meat consumption and research priorities’

Interaction: Participants will be invited to contribute to the open discussion following the presentations.

Speaker