Sustainable Consumption in Everyday A Qualitative Study of UK Consumer Experiences - Medical Science Assignment Help

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ABSTRACT

Meat consumption is a major driver of climate change. Interventions that reduce meat consumption may im- prove public health and promote environmental sustainability. We conducted a randomized controlled trial to examine the effects of an awareness-raising intervention on meat consumption. We randomized undergraduate classes into treatment and control groups. Treatment groups received a 50-minute lecture on how food choices affect climate change, along with information about the health benefits of reduced meat consumption. Control classrooms received a lecture on a placebo topic. We analyzed 49,301 students’ meal purchases in the college dining halls before and after the intervention. We merged food purchase data with survey data to study het- erogenous treatment effects and disentangle mechanisms. Participants in the treatment group reduced their purchases of meat and increased their purchases of plant-based alternatives after the intervention. The prob- ability of purchasing a meat-based meal fell by 4.6 percentage points (p < 0.01), whereas the probability of purchasing a plant-based meal increased by 4.2 percentage points (p = 0.04).

 

Introduction
Meat consumption is a major cause of climate change, resulting in roughly 15% of all anthropogenic greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions (Bailey et al., 2014; Gerber et al. 2013; Godfray et al. 2018; Wellesley et al., 2015b). A host of international organizations have warned that the current scale of meat production is unsustainable and have ad- vocated for shifts toward healthier, plant-based diets to achieve climate change goals (Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, 2020; Schiermeier, 2019; Springmann et al., 2016; Springmann et al., 2018; Tilman and Clark, 2014).

 

Methods
2.1. Control and treatment groups

We randomized ten undergraduate economics classes into treatment and control groups. The ten economics classes include core courses that must be taken sequentially (i.e. students cannot enroll in more than one of these classes in a semester), ensuring no overlap in student enroll- ment between treatment and control groups. Treatment classrooms received the intervention: a 50-minute lecture about how food choices affect climate change, along with information on the health benefits of reduced meat consumption. Control classrooms provide us with a comparison group not exposed to the intervention. Control classrooms received a lecture on a placebo topic (economic inequality), given the preference of the host college in keeping equal the number of days of course content between control and treatment classes. The same in- dividual delivered the lectures for both the control and treatment groups.

 

Sustainable Consumption in Everyday Life:
A Qualitative Study of UK Consumer Experiences of Meat Reduction

Josephine Mylan
Sustainable Consumption Institute, University of Manchester, M13 9PL Manchester, UK;
josephine.mylan@manchester.ac.uk
Received: 24 April 2018; Accepted: 29 June 2018; Published: 4 July 2018

Abstract: A reduction in meat consumption is increasingly considered fundamental to a sustainable food system. This paper contributes to understanding how meat consumers enact ‘meat reduction’ in the context of their everyday lives, exploring the motivations, strategies and experiences of eating less meat. Data were generated through twenty in-depth interviews with UK meat eaters, half of whom aimed to reduce their meat intake. Accounts from three meat-reducing respondents are used to present insights from the in-depth exploration of meat reduction in relation to broader practices of eating and food provision in daily life, interpreted through the lens of a practice-oriented understanding of consumption. Findings suggest that the enactment of meat reduction is determined by factors beyond individuals’ ethical stance towards environmental issues or animal welfare.

 

Introduction
Changes in the consumption patterns of western societies are fundamental to meeting sustainable development goals and climate change targets [1]. The importance of this is reflected in the vibrancy of interdisciplinary research in the area of ‘sustainable consumption and production’ (SCP). A key contribution of work in this area to date has been the identification of domains which contribute the most significant resource burden to society and consequently offer greatest potential for reducing environmental impacts. Following a review of SCP research, Tukker et al. [2] found that despite considerable variety in approach, data and indicators used within the field, a broad agreement exists about the key locations of environmental burdens. More specifically this research suggests that the three domains of mobility, housing and food are responsible for 70–80% of the lifecycle environmental impacts of society.

 

Approach of the Study
2.1. Meat Reduction within the Practice of Eating

Over the past decade, the study of environmentally consequential consumption has benefited from insights from the sociology of consumption. This research has contributed to a shift in focus from individual consumers’ environmentally significant behaviours as the core problem for sustainable consumption research, to include greater attention to the cultural, economic and material structuring of consumption (e.g., [15–17]). Important within this shift has been the uptake and development of the ‘practice turn’ [17], and the idea that people consume objects, resources and services not for their own sake, but in the course of accomplishing social practices [18].

 

Data Collection
The data used in this analysis was collected as part of a wider project on changes in food consumption in three English cities. The study included a representative survey of eating habits of the residents of three cities, conducted in 2015. Full details of the survey methodology have been published elsewhere [24]. The survey respondents were asked if they agreed to participate in future research, and those who agreed formed the population, which was used to recruit interview participants for four qualitative work packages, including the one reported herein. Respondents were allocated to the project on meat reduction on the basis of their response to questions about meat eating and attempting to reduce meat eating, ensuring that no participant was allocated to more than one work package.

Hello,

Our aim of the interview is to explore eating habits of people  and the factors influencing their  habits. To analyse up to what extent they are aware of negative impact of meat consumption on environment.

 

1.Could you please tell me about yourself?What’s your name?How old are you?What is your educational background?

2.Could you please talk regarding your family?

3.How many times you go to pick up groceries?

4.How you select a food product before you purchase?

3.How often you go for a meal per day?

4.What kind of food you prefer to eat?How often you go for a meat free meal?

5.Do you like to prepare the food by yourself?How often you prefer?

6.Where you prefer to eat,restaurant or at your home?With whom you  go out?When was the last time you ate outside?

7.Tell me,do you have any idea regarding sustainable consumption?if yes,could you explain me.

8.What kind of idea do you have regarding meat consumption?  is it safe to eat  frequently?

9.Explain me,up to what extent meat consumption compensate your proteins and nutrients?

10.What you think about the main beneficial aspects of being Vegan?

11.Did you  ever tried to be a vegetarian or a vegan? If so, why?

12.Make me understand the relationship between meat consumption  and impact on environment?

13.What should be the goal for you to reducing meat in your diet?

14.If you ever tried to reduce meat consumption, what obstacles you faced in succeeding ?

15.Up to what extent you are adaptable to a transistion in food habits?

16.Excessive meat uptake is said to have  ill effects ,it can be compensated with plant based derivatives.Do you agree with it,if yes.Explain me.

17.Do you think creation of awareness in public regarding meat uptake and it’s effects on ecological imbalance leads to decrease in meat consumption?What  can be  an ideal way for you to bring the change?

 

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