Got beef with beans? SFU study explains why shoppers don’t buy more plant‑based proteins
Incorporating more plant-based proteins could help people save on their grocery bill, but new research has found that it's not so simple when it comes to choices at the supermarket
Incorporating more plant-based proteins could help people save on their grocery bill, but new research has found that it's not so simple when it comes to choices at the supermarket.
Simon Fraser University researchers peeked into more than 87,000 grocery carts in Canada and Finland to study how much price influenced the type of protein people bought: animal-based or plant-based. Researchers discovered that while the price had to be right, having a variety of options also played a role.
“When prices rose, people bought less, and that was true for both animal-based and plant-based proteins. What surprised us was that price differences hit meat purchases harder than plant-based ones,” says Cameron McRae, lead author of the study.
“Price has often been described as a major barrier to buying plant-based foods, but our data suggests the relationship is more complicated.”
Key findings
- Used real grocery purchase data from more than shoppers in 58,000 in Canada and 29,000 shoppers in Finland
- Price differences hit meat purchases harder than plant‑based ones
- Income and education widened price gaps mainly for animal‑based foods
- Income drives plant-based choices more than education
- A larger variety of affordable plant‑based foods could help more people switch to a more climate‑friendly diet
Published in Nature, the study used loyalty‑card records to collect grocery purchase data from 58,000 shoppers Canada and 29,000 shoppers in Finland over two-year periods. This approach let them look at what people actually bought, not what they said they might buy or remembered buying.
Researchers tracked monthly purchases of seven plant‑based protein categories (such as legumes, beverages like soy, almond and oat milks, tofu, and other meat substitutes) and 14 animal‑based categories (including beef, pork, poultry, eggs, and dairy).
Then, they measured how changes in price influenced each kind of purchase.
The study found that people adjusted their meat purchases more than their plant‑based protein purchases when prices rose or fell. People with lower socioeconomic status were more price sensitive overall.
But the gap between high‑ and low‑income shoppers was smaller for plant‑based products than for animal‑based ones, which indicates both pricing and product variety play important roles in who can realistically access more sustainable food options.
Ultimately, plant-based food is climate-friendly food, and we need to give people more variety and flexibility of affordable options if we want them to eat more of it, McRae says.
“With meat, shoppers can usually trade down when prices are higher, choosing ground beef instead of steak, for example. If there are only two or three plant-based options on the shelf, consumers who want those products have fewer cheaper alternatives to switch to,” he explains. “If sustainability is the goal, plant-based foods can’t remain a premium option.”
The study calls for more competitive pricing between animal- and plant-based proteins, which means shoppers would see similar prices for a two-litre carton of dairy milk and a plant-based alternative, for example.
Discounts or subsidies for plant-based purchases could also help more people green up their grocery carts. In the meantime, shoppers may find instant savings simply by swapping meat protein for legumes just a couple times a week.
“One-to-one substitution, like plant-based cheese instead of dairy cheese, are often where grocery bills increase. Whole foods tell a very different story,” McRae explains.
“If people focus less on highly processed plant-based substitutes and more on whole foods like beans, lentils and peas, a plant-forward diet can actually be less expensive overall.”
Journal
Nature
Article Title
Plant-based protein foods are less sensitive to price changes than animal-based ones, with differences across income and education levels
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