Abstract
The livestock sector is a major driver of climate change, accounting for 14.5% of anthropogenic greenhouse gas emissions. Population growth and rising prosperity are expected to see global consumption of meat rise by 76% by mid-century, a rate which is associated with significant social and environmental costs. There is therefore a compelling case for public measures to promote dietary shifts towards a more sustainable model, but little action has been taken at the international or national level. This article reports on an international study, with research conducted across the UK, US, China and Brazil, which examines the role the media might play in driving social change in this area. The study focused specifically on the negotiation of new information around meat consumption and climate change and its impacts on existing attitudes and behaviours. Findings indicate that perceptions and beliefs on climate change are culturally specific – tending to reflect national political and social priorities – but are contextualised within individually constructed media environments. Key determining factors include assessments of trust and credibility in regard to scientists and other experts, perceptions of the role of government and questions of individual versus collective responsibility. These shape the parameters within which arguments about the impact of meat consumption upon climate change are received, and these responses interact with cultural and structural barriers and opportunities to shape the likelihood of behaviour change.
Generated Summary
This article reports on an international study examining the role of media in influencing social change regarding meat consumption and climate change. The research, conducted across the UK, US, China, and Brazil, employed focus groups to explore how new information about meat consumption and its environmental impacts affects attitudes and behaviors. The study specifically focused on the negotiation of new information around meat consumption and climate change and its impacts on existing attitudes and behaviours. The research aimed to understand how perceptions and beliefs about climate change are culturally specific but are contextualized within individually constructed media environments. The methodology involved a three-staged approach to audience reception, focusing on specific triggers for engagement and response, as well as how materials are assessed and why they might be powerful. The study considered how media environments, the reception of information, existing belief structures, and behavior change interrelate in the context of meat consumption. This approach included examining structures of public trust, assessments of credibility in relation to scientists and other experts, perceptions of the role of government, and questions of individual versus collective responsibility.
Key Findings & Statistics
- The livestock sector accounts for 14.5% of global anthropogenic greenhouse gas emissions.
- Global meat consumption is expected to rise by 76% by mid-century.
- The study found that participants are twice as likely to identify the transport sector as an important contributor to climate change compared with meat production, despite the two sources accounting for a roughly equal share of global anthropogenic GHG emissions.
- The share of participants stating that meat and dairy production contribute little or nothing to climate change ranged between 18% and 42% across the 12 countries.
- By 2050, global meat consumption is expected to increase by 76%.
- Meat and dairy production account for a roughly equal share of global anthropogenic GHG emissions.
- The expansion of pasture and cropland for feed would likely constrain the deployment of negative emissions technologies (NETS).
- The 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) agreed by the international community in 2015 set targets for improved health and wellbeing and greater stewardship of natural resources, many of which would be supported by a global reduction in meat consumption levels.
- Meat consumption is responsible for 14.5% of global anthropogenic greenhouse gas emissions.
- Excessive consumption of meat, particularly red and processed meat, has also been linked with the rising global incidence of obesity and diet-related non-communicable diseases.
- A multinational online opinion survey undertaken by Bailey et al. (2014) to examine levels of public awareness and understanding of climate change and its drivers finds that participants around the world are twice as likely to identify the transport sector as an important contributor to climate change compared with meat production.
- The share of participants stating that meat and dairy production contribute little or nothing to climate change ranged between 18% and 42% across the 12 countries, with Russia’s participants demonstrating a particularly significant awareness gap around the importance of the sector as a source of emissions.
- Participants with a greater awareness of the climate impact of meat and dairy consumption displayed a markedly higher propensity either to be taking action to reduce diet-related emissions or to consider taking action in the future.
- Without a global reduction in meat consumption, the agreement made in Paris at the 21st Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC COP21), committing 195 countries to ‘holding the increase in the global average temperature to well below 2°C above pre-industrial levels and pursuing efforts to limit the temperature increase to 1.5°C’ (UNFCCC 2015), will be unrealizable (Wellesley et al. 2015; Bajželj et al. 2014).
Other Important Findings
- Perceptions and beliefs on climate change are culturally specific but contextualized within individually constructed media environments.
- Key determining factors include assessments of trust and credibility in regard to scientists and other experts, perceptions of the role of government, and questions of individual versus collective responsibility.
- The way in which social behaviours or ‘practices’ change involves a dynamic relationship between structural processes, the belief systems within which new ideas are absorbed, and the way in which practices are made meaningful within particular cultures and conventions.
- Media messaging may play a role in driving dietary behaviour change, though research indicates that the way in which content is received should not be assumed as the public are often active negotiators of meanings from media texts.
- The study identified a diverse range of actors deemed by participants as trusted sources of information on climate and livestock issues. The relative degree of ‘helpfulness’ afforded to each group – governments, companies, environmental groups, ‘experts’, traditional media and social media – varied considerably among countries, but traditional media were identified as one of the top three most helpful sources of information by participants in Brazil, China, the UK and the US (Bailey et al. 2014; see Fig. 6). Social media, while deemed unhelpful by participants in the UK and US, were afforded considerable importance by participants in Brazil and China.
- The study highlights that in the Western context there is a very strong culture of individualism which promotes the prioritisation of personal benefits over collective benefits, and as such tends to position individuals up in competition with each other.
- The way in which audiences in the digital arena construct a tailored media environment to deliver content from preferred sources often exacerbated the tendency to prioritize trusted sources.
- In the UK and US groups, since meat-eating was most frequently in the form of the consumption of cheap mass-produced meats such as burgers, associations were as likely to be with behaviours in lower-income communities.
- The associations between climate change and meat consumption have not yet been established.
- Awareness was largely non-existent amongst the Chinese sample and where it was present across the other samples, it was largely concentrated in the more educated groups.
- The findings indicated that, while information provision alone is unlikely to be sufficient to trigger behaviour change, it has an important role to play in socializing the idea of reduced meat consumption.
Limitations Noted in the Document
- The research was qualitative, and sample sizes were small, so not generalizable to whole populations.
- The study did not conduct a media content analysis.
- The way in which audiences in the digital arena construct a tailored media environment to deliver content from preferred sources often exacerbated the tendency to prioritize trusted sources.
- The study found that, while information provision alone is unlikely to be sufficient to trigger behaviour change, it has an important role to play in socializing the idea of reduced meat consumption.
Conclusion
The study underscores the complex interplay between media environments, individual beliefs, and cultural contexts in shaping public perceptions of climate change and meat consumption. The findings suggest that while there is a general awareness gap regarding the impact of meat production on climate change, there’s potential to foster a positive narrative around the benefits of dietary change. Key to success is the framing of messages, the way in which information is received, and the role of existing social and political values and the nature of media consumption. This approach highlights that policy strategies must consider the role of trust in scientific authority, the importance of co-benefits, and the need for collaboration between various stakeholders. The research emphasizes that policy strategies that aim to raise awareness must incorporate the understanding of how information is received and evaluated within individual media environments. These findings underscore the necessity of tailored and nuanced communication strategies, recognizing that the impact of meat consumption and climate change is viewed differently across various cultural and social contexts, and that effective interventions require a multifaceted approach that accounts for both individual choices and structural factors. The study reinforces the need for a collaborative approach involving stakeholders to build and spread a strong narrative around the benefits of dietary changes, emphasizing co-benefits like improved health and environmental gains. Also, the most effective and convincing sources of information are likely to be those that confer a sense of authority whilst being shared and endorsed within audience members’ own constructed media environments. To achieve the ambitious targets related to sustainable development, a reduction in global aggregate meat consumption levels and a more equitable distribution of consumption across countries is needed.