Will scary warning labels soon appear on meat packaging? This university thinks so

You surely know them: those disgusting/scary pictures on cigarette packs. ‘Smoking kills’, ‘Smoking causes cancer’, ‘Smoking makes you blind’: the message is clear. Do such warnings also work on meat packaging? According to research from Durham University, they do. Could this kind of ‘fear appeal’, as this type of warning is called, soon be seen on our meat packaging too?

Eating a lot of meat is not good for our health. According to Het Voedingscentrum, eating too much meat carries various health risks, such as an increased risk of cancer, strokes and type 2 diabetes. In addition, meat is no great friend of our climate.

On its website, Het Voedingscentrum states that ‘the growing demand for meat leads to deforestation, increased land and water use, and the disappearance of rainforests’. All warnings that set off the alarm bells. Durham University in England wondered: would we eat less meat if we put warning labels on meat packaging? You know, those scary, sometimes downright gruesome pictures you see on cigarette packs?

Health, climate and pandemic

To investigate this, researchers at Durham University designed 3 different types of labels for meat packaging. One with a health warning, one with a warning about climate change and one with a warning about a pandemic. One thousand respondents were divided into three different groups. They were shown all three labels, as well as images of fish, vegetarian and vegan meals. The control group was not shown any labels. Does it work, putting such scary and disgusting pictures on meat packaging?

Effective?

The results of the study show that it does. The people who had seen the warning labels were far less enthusiastic about buying meat. 7.4% were triggered by the climate warning, 8.8% by the health warning and 10% by the pandemic warning. Apparently, we are still most afraid of another lockdown, the study shows.

Het Voedingscentrum’s opinion

RTL Nieuws spoke to Anne Lutgerink, who works at Het Voedingscentrum, about this study. Does Het Voedingscentrum see potential in this strategy? According to Lutgerink, it remains to be seen whether the scary labels would actually have an effect in practice. Fear appeal, as the strategy is called, is effective if it meets 3 conditions: it must be personally relevant to you, there must be enough threat, and you must have a suitable alternative. If one of the three does not work, there is already a good chance that the strategy will have no effect on you.

For example, you really have to feel that climate change poses a threat. Or know that there are enough tasty meat substitutes (although they also are not always healthy). According to Het Voedingscentrum, other strategies are probably more effective, such as raising the price. Or perhaps the meat tax, which has already caused quite a bit of commotion?

Ultimately, the fact remains that you decide for yourself what you do and do not put in your basket. It is notable, however, that sales of meat substitutes have been declining for a while this year. Only when meat substitutes are tastier and more affordable will people—we think—be inclined to choose them over real meat. Despite all the warnings..

Also read:

• 5 things you want to know about meat but are afraid to ask the butcher
• Freezing and thawing meat: this is how (not) to do it
• Test: Lidl puts meat substitutes next to real meat on the shelf (and they are much cheaper)

Source: RTL Nieuws