Effects of a documentary on consumer perception of the environmental impact of meat consumption

Purpose Meat consumption causes a large amount of global greenhouse gas emissions and other environmental problems. Studies showed that consumers underestimate the environmental impact of meat consumption compared to other food-related behaviours. A video intervention was conducted to investigate the effect of information on consumers' perception and behaviour. Design/methodology/approach Two didactically different videos about meat and the environment and a control video were shown to 189 participants. Ratings about the environmental impact of different food-related behaviours as well as participants' meat consumption frequency were obtained directly before, one week later and one year after the screening by self-report questionnaires. Findings Mean rating of the environmental impact of meat consumption was second to the least important of the different food consumption patterns. In the first intervention group, the rating increased significantly (p = 0.001) after having watched the video. There was no such effect in the second intervention or the control group. Self-reported meat consumption frequency did not change significantly in any of the groups. No long-term differences between the groups could be found. Research limitations/implications The results suggest that there is still a lack of knowledge concerning the environmental impact of meat consumption. Providing information can affect awareness, depending on the type of information delivery. The circumstances under which information encourages behaviour change need to be further explored. Originality/value This is the first study that investigated the impact of different videos about environmental impacts of meat consumption on consumer perceptions and behaviour.