plant and food research values

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• Published: 20 March 2024

On the value of food systems research

Nature Food volume  5 ,  page 183 ( 2024 ) Cite this article

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Every study has limitations; the question is whether it moves the field forward and what this entails for each community.

A great deal of research is exclusively assessed in terms of technical quality, a metric that is arguably easier to measure in exact than non-exact sciences and that doesn’t say much about the impact of the research results to society. Its relevance is therefore limited when it comes to food systems research, which involves social and cultural elements and is motivated by grand societal challenges such as the fight against hunger, poverty and climate change. Questions related to food security and the sustainability of food systems, no matter whether they are approached through a nutritional, environmental or socioeconomic lens, tend to involve a great deal of complexity and context specificity.

Given the above, a question we ought to ask when assessing a food systems study is whether it moves the field forward and offers a substantial contribution despite its limitations. Equally important is to ask whether these limitations are transparently laid out. Ideally, the study would have a well-defined analytical framework and discuss the potential implications of its main assumptions, particularly if they are likely to change conclusions in a significant way. The line that marks the divide between ‘substantial’ and ‘non-substantial’ or ‘significant’ and ‘non-significant’, as used above, is to be drawn by the relevant research community — and is bound to change over time, based on that community’s understanding of what is useful or insightful in light of the field’s uncertainties. In the scientific peer-review process, the feedback of reviewers — as representatives of the research community — is key to making such a call.

What makes a piece of research valuable when it comes to food systems isn’t necessarily its degree of technical advance, but rather the conceptual advance it represents and the potential impact associated with it. For instance, the angle through which a problem is addressed and how it is framed can yield arresting and important conclusions, even when calculation methodologies remain unaltered. This point is well illustrated by food-related greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, which were traditionally reported for each sector (transport, energy, industry, and so on) and supply stage (production, processing, distribution, consumption and waste) separately but have been more recently combined under ‘systems emissions’. While their breakdown informs sectoral policies, the sum of all GHG emissions is needed for synergies and trade-offs to be properly identified and accounted for 1 . Besides, the global overview of emissions is crucial for creating awareness around the impact of food choices and catalysing mitigation action. The message that food systems are currently responsible for a third of all current anthropogenic GHG emissions 2 , so widely publicized, was determinant for food systems to be placed at the centre of the climate agenda and to receive due attention from world leaders.

A recently proposed food classification system based on the degree of food processing that has singled out ultra-processed foods (UPFs) 3 provides another interesting case for reflection on how to evaluate research. Some scientists were critical of this new categorization, arguing that processing in itself isn’t what makes a food item good or bad for people and the environment, and highlighting mixed evidence on the impact of UPFs on biochemical risk factors for disease 4 . Others found it extremely useful for eliciting the association between the consumption of UPFs and many of their distinctive characteristics, which are themselves harmful to human health (either directly, like high sugar and/or additive content, or indirectly, through shifts in consumers’ preferences towards impoverished diets) and the environment. Undeniably, this classification has stimulated a healthy debate around modern dietary habits, the intricate factors behind them, and public policies’ sole focus on nutritional characteristics of foods.

As the examples above suggest, two more points deserve attention when thinking of the value — and contribution — of food systems research. The first point is about clarity over what a study can and cannot answer, and consequently what it should be used for. The combined account of food-related GHG emissions sheds light on food systems’ total footprint, underscoring the need for coordinated policies, but doesn’t replace sectoral granularity. Likewise, a food classification system based on UPFs may not say much about processing as a food engineering technique, yet it highlights important issues surrounding these products. The second point refers to the scope of the analysis and the multiplicity of aspects that are considered given the urgency of food systems transformation. Whether that’s done in a meaningful way and to a sufficient extent is for the food community to judge.

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On the value of food systems research. Nat Food 5 , 183 (2024). https://doi.org/10.1038/s43016-024-00960-9

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Plant and Food Research's science platforms

Plant and Food Research receives $42.7 million per year of Strategic Science Investment Fund (SSIF) funding for 2 science platforms – Plant-based food and seafood production and Premium plant-based and seafood products.

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In July 2017, Plant and Food Research received $42.7 million Strategic Science Investment Fund (SSIF) funding per year for 7 years to June 2024 for 2 science platforms - Plant-based food and seafood production, and Premium plant-based and seafood products.

In 2022/2023, they received a further $200,000 SSIF funding to support the provision of urgent science advice before, during, and after North Island Extreme Weather Events.

Extreme weather science response

About the research

Plant–based food and seafood production (receiving $20.9 million of Plant and Food Research’s annual SSIF funding) for deep understanding of the biology and physiology of key economic plant and seafood species, their pests and diseases and interactions with the environment e.g., precision seafood handling and harvesting regimes, fast fruit-fly detection.

Premium plant-based and seafood products (receiving $21.8 million of Plant and Food Research’s annual SSIF funding) for combining genetics, food and consumer science, and postharvest technologies and engineering to create value-added foods, beverages and other premium products e.g. new kiwifruit varieties, protecting consumers from seafood-borne illnesses.

Below is the public statement from our contract with Plant and Food Research.

Read the contract public statement from 2024

Plant & Food Research receives $42.7 million per year SSIF investment for research in 2 Science Platforms. A science platform is a combination of people, facilities, information and knowledge that provides a particular, ongoing science and innovation capability for New Zealand.

Plant-based food and seafood production ($20.9 million per annum)

Description: This platform supports capabilities that contribute to the sustainable production and protection of crops and seafood. By 2026, this platform will have produced a deeper understanding of the biology and physiology of key economic plant and seafood species, their production systems, their pests and diseases and interactions with the environment. 

For New Zealand, this will mean:

• Improved and novel growing systems
• Sustainable management of soil and water
• New integrated pest/pathogen management systems
• Climate Change mitigations
• New capability in Digital Horticulture
• New technologies for improved Market Access and Biosecurity

The objective for our portfolio of research investments is to maximise impact for New Zealand using a whole-of-value chain approach, across different sectors and over multiple timeframes. We aim to achieve an appropriate balance of near and longer-term targets to ensure that impact is delivered at regular intervals, and to develop new ideas and capabilities for the future (currently $8.7 million Sector-based; $7.2 million Pan-sector-based; $5 million Future Science).

Premium plant-based and seafood products ($21.8 million per annum)

Description: Premium Plant-based and Seafood products platform supports capabilities that create value-added food and beverages. By 2026, this platform will be combining genetics, food, consumer science and postharvest technologies and engineering to create value-added foods, beverages and other premium products. 

For New Zealand this will mean:

• World class breeding programmes utilising the latest technologies
• Future foods and biomaterials
• New postharvest technologies
• Consumer Science-informed food development
• Improved food safety and assurance
• Enhanced data analytics, including bioinformatics 

The objective for our portfolio of research investments is to maximise impact for New Zealand using a whole-of-value chain approach, across different sectors and over multiple timeframes. We aim to achieve an appropriate balance of near and longer-term targets to ensure that impact is delivered at regular intervals, and to develop new ideas and capabilities for the future (currently $14.8 million Sector-based; $2 million Pan-sector-based; $5 million Future Science).

For further information on Plant & Food Research’s SSIF investment contact Richard Newcomb, [email protected] .

Read the contract public statement from 2017

Plant-based food and seafood production ($20.9 million per year)

Supports capabilities that contribute to the sustainable production and protection of crops and seafood.

By 2024, this platform will have produced a deeper understanding of the biology and physiology of key economic plant and seafood species, their production systems, their pests and diseases and interactions with the environment. For New Zealand, this will mean:

• improved and novel growing systems
• sustainable management of soil and water
• new integrated pest/pathogen management systems
• climate Change mitigations
• new capability in Digital Horticulture
• new technologies for improved Market Access and Biosecurity.

Premium plant-based and seafood products ($21.8 million per year)

Supports capabilities that create value-added food and beverages. By 2024, this platform will be combining genetics, food, consumer science and postharvest technologies and engineering to create value-added foods, beverages and other premium products. For New Zealand this will mean:

• world class breeding programmes utilising the latest technologies
• future foods and biomaterials
• new postharvest technologies
• consumer Science-informed food development
• improved food safety and assurance
• enhanced data analytics, including bioinformatics.

Annual updates

Recipients of SSIF funding are required to report yearly on the progress of their work programme.  Below are the public updates from Plant and Food Research Institute’s annual reports.

Read the public update from the 2022/23 annual report

Platform 1: Plant-based food and seafood production

This Platform provides research and capabilities in the biology of key economic plant and seafood species, production systems, pests and diseases, and interactions with the environment to support innovation in the sustainable production and protection of crops and seafood.

In 2022 to 2023, $19.1 million was invested in basic-targeted research through the Tuia ki te Whenua Sustainability and Provenance Wins Ngā Pou Rangahau- Growing Futures Direction to deliver research ‘today’ to underpin ‘tomorrow’s’ future growing environments, and in the Digital Horticultural Systems Direction to explore how digital technologies might transform perennial horticulture towards a fully-autonomous future. These investments delivered research on stakeholder perspectives, sensing and imaging, data architecture and visualisation, apple system models, simulated orchard ecosystems, and regenerative food systems. As well, research to support the recovery from the effects of Cyclone Gabrielle and a new tool to evaluate the depth of our huatahi partnerships with Māori were funded through Platform 1.

In this Platform $4 million was invested in Better Border Biosecurity research to reduce the entry and establishment of new plant pests and diseases in Aotearoa New Zealand. In 2022/2023 $12.9 million of research activity was classified as Discovery Science. SSIF investment supported ongoing and new collaborations with leading research organisations in Aotearoa New Zealand and around the world that enable researchers to benchmark science; access new thinking, capabilities, facilities and environments; and ensure Aotearoa New Zealand benefits from relevant science advances. New technologies were also produced to protect horticultural sectors from high impact pests and diseases through our investment in the Better Border Biosecurity collaboration. This year 277 papers were published, our SciMago score was 4.84, and the percentage of collaborative publications was 88%.

Additional information (external link)  — Plant & Food Research

Platform 2: Premium plant-based and seafood products

This Platform provides basic-targeted research and capabilities in genetics, food and consumer science, and postharvest technologies and engineering to support premium foods, beverages and other high-value products.

In 2022 to 2023, $23.57 million was invested in 3 Ngā Pou Rangahau - Growing Futures (NPR-GF) Directions: Hua ki te Ao Horticulture Goes Urban, Ngā Tai Hōhonu Open Ocean Aquaculture and Authentic Taonga Foods. These Directions deliver basic-targeted research ‘today’ that underpins longer-term opportunities ‘tomorrow’. NPR-GF investments delivered research on future urban consumers, traits for life indoors, overcoming pollination barriers, environmental plant hacking, Māori growing practices go vertical, performance measurement technologies for aquatic food production systems, fish species selection and assessment, aquafeeds for open ocean aquaculture, and cellular systems to support healthy fish.

Platform 2 also funded an initiative on taonga data that has contributed to a pan-CRI initiative in this area, a collaboration with AgResearch in food material biosciences, and a project on exploring taonga species with Māori partners. This year approximately $21.4 million was invested in Discovery Science. SSIF investment supported collaborations with leading research organisations in Aotearoa New Zealand and around the world. These collaborations enabled researchers to benchmark science; access new thinking, capabilities, facilities and environments; and ensure Aotearoa New Zealand benefits from advances in genetics, food and consumer science, technologies and engineering.

Research outputs described new fish rearing systems, novel technologies for measuring fish performance, aquafeeds, species selection frameworks, use of biofilms, a biobank of fish cell lines, survey tools for assessing consumer perceptions of food systems, plant traits for indoor growing systems, new propagation techniques for woody plants, and genetic control of fruit development. This year 277 peer-reviewed scientific papers were published. Our SciMago score for science excellence is 4.84. Our measure of research collaboration (percentage of peer-reviewed publications) was 88%.

Read the public update from the 2021/22 annual report

Platform 1 provides underpinning research and capabilities in the biology of key economic plant and seafood species, their production systems, pests and diseases, and interactions with the environment to support innovation in the sustainable production and protection of crops and seafood.

In 2021/22, $20.9 M was invested in basic targeted research through the Tuia ki te Whenua Sustainability and Provenance Wins Growing Futures Direction, which is delivering research ‘today’ to underpin ‘tomorrow’s’  future growing environments , and a new Digital Horticultural Systems Direction exploring how digital technologies might transform perennial horticulture towards a fully-autonomous future. New programmes were: `Data Architecture, Analytics and Visualisation’; `Modelling High Performance Apple Systems’; `Simulating Orchard Ecosystems’, and `Smart Sensing and Imaging Systems’. Investments across these two Directions delivered research on regenerative production ecosystems, future supply chains, new models of perennial horticulture and the deployment of digital twins. In this platform $3.9 M was invested in Biosecurity Aotearoa research to reduce the entry and establishment of new plant pests and diseases in New Zealand.

In 2021/22 $12.5 M of research activity was classified as Discovery Science. SSIF investment supported ongoing and new collaborations with leading research organisations in New Zealand and around the world. These collaborations enabled Plant & Food Research to benchmark science; access new thinking, capabilities, facilities and environments; and ensured New Zealand benefits from advances in crop protection and sustainable production science. Research outputs contributed to improved and novel growing systems, sustainable management of soil and water, new integrated pest/pathogen management systems, climate change mitigations, new capability in emerging digital technologies, and new technologies for improved market access and biosecurity. This year 352 peer-reviewed scientific papers were published. Our SciMago score for science excellence is 4.9. Our measure of research collaboration (percentage of scientific peer-reviewed publications) this year is 81%.

Platform 2 provides underpinning basic targeted research and capabilities in genetics, food and consumer science, and postharvest technologies and engineering to support the development of premium foods, beverages and other high-value products. In 2021/22, $21.8 M was invested in sector and pan-sector-aligned programmes and two Growing Futures Directions ‒ Hua ki te Ao Horticulture Goes Urban (HgU) and Ngā Tai Hōhonu Open Ocean Aquaculture (OOA) ‒ delivering basic-targeted research ‘today’ to underpin longer-term opportunities ‘tomorrow’. HgU programmes commenced on `Foods by Design’, `Environmental Plant Hacking’, and `Māori Growing Practices go Vertical’. OOA programmes commenced on `New Open Oceans Ecosystems’ and `Cellular Systems for Fish Health’. Growing Futures investments delivered research on future urban consumers, traits for life indoors, performance measurement technologies for aquatic food production systems, fish species selection and assessment, and aquafeeds for open ocean aquaculture.

This year ~$17.2 M was invested in Discovery Science. SSIF investment supported ongoing and new collaborations with leading research organisations in New Zealand and around the world. These collaborations enabled Plant & Food Research to benchmark science; access new thinking, capabilities, facilities and environments; and ensure New Zealand benefits from advances in genetics, food and consumer science, technologies and engineering. Research outputs enhanced breeding programmes, future foods and biomaterials and growing systems for producing them. This year 352 peer-reviewed scientific papers were published. Our SciMago score for science excellence is 4.9. Our measure of research collaboration (percentage of scientific peer-reviewed publications) this year is 81%.

More information

Learn more about Plant and Food Research (external link)  — Plant & Food Research

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The power of plants and how they are changing the way we eat and live

by Megan Borders, University of New Mexico

Plant-based eating and veganism have been around for decades, but more people are choosing plant-based diets than ever before. Plant-based eating means eating more fruits, vegetables, nuts, grains and beans while eating less or no meat, dairy or animal products. A UNM business school researcher has studied the reasons behind this trend.

Lama Lteif, an assistant professor of marketing at the UNM Anderson School of Management, in her 2023 article, "Plant Power: SEEDing our Future with Plant-based Eating," shared a new way to look at why people are choosing plant-based diets and the benefits of this shift. She built on data from the 2021 Rockefeller Foundation report to explain people's food choices. Her work features a framework showing the values that drive consumers toward plant-based eating. The framework is called SEED: Sustainability, Ethics, Equity and Dining for Health.

Plant Power is the first research article of its kind, "because it is at the intersection of consumer health and the climate crisis. Understanding the reasons that drive consumers to choose a plant-based diet is good for people and the environment," said Lteif.

The SEED Framework

As more people relate to the values in the SEED framework, they are changing their food habits to reflect these beliefs.

"By understanding how these values influence decision-making, individuals and marketers alike can make better choices for themselves, inform their marketing strategies , and give more attention to the issues that mean the most to them," Lteif explained.

Those who relate to the Sustainability value have growing concerns about animal farming and its role in climate change. People have learned that eating less meat can reduce their carbon footprint and help ease the effects of global warming.

Next, Lteif explained that a person's belief system, or code of Ethics, can also affect their eating choices. Within this group is a growing concern for animal safety and well-being during meat and dairy production. Animal handling practices can include cramped living conditions, overcrowding or inhumane treatment. By not eating these foods, those holding this value hope to show their concern and support better animal treatment.

Food Equity refers to offering all people affordable access to food and the ability to cook and store the food that allows them to thrive. There is a growing awareness that many people do not have access to plant-based food or the means to keep it fresh. More so, underserved communities, including communities of color, often have less access to healthy, affordable, plant-based foods. Improving access can improve people's health and well-being by eating more healthy foods and allowing them to make choices that reflect their values.

Lastly, the Dining for Health value supports the connection between food and health. A plant-based diet is rich in fiber, vitamins, minerals and antioxidants, which help improve gut health and absorbing of nutrients that support the immune system. Because of this, a diet that is rich in fruits and vegetables can help reduce the risk of certain cancers, type 2 diabetes, heart disease and more.

Plant-based eating and its impact on the future

Lteif, a former nutritionist, combines her passion for helping others make healthy food choices with a curiosity about the drivers behind people's eating choices. She likens these value-based choices to a seed's root system, where the "SEED values connect and as a group can influence a person's eating habits. If embraced by society as a whole, these values can transform systems to be more friendly to our environment, more fair and more nourishing."

Lteif explained that Gen Z, those aged 35 and younger, are leading the way with alternative food choices due to their concerns about climate change and the environment. She believes learning more about the other value groups and the reasons keeping others from making healthy food choices is important. She would also like to explore ways to encourage more people to adopt a plant-based diet.

A great benefit of eating more fruits and vegetables is more demand for restaurants, grocery stores and eateries that offer vegan-friendly options. This increase in offerings makes it easier for people to make healthier choices today than ever before.

The work is published in the Journal of Consumer Psychology .

Journal information: Journal of Consumer Psychology

Provided by University of New Mexico

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Scientists Keep Finding Heavy Metals in Dark Chocolate. Should You Worry?

New research adds to the evidence that certain cocoa products contain lead and cadmium.

By Dani Blum

New research published Wednesday found heavy metals in dark chocolate, the latest in a string of studies to raise concerns about toxins in cocoa products.

The researchers tested 72 dark chocolate bars, cocoa powders and nibs to see if they were contaminated with heavy metals in concentrations higher than those deemed safe by California’s Proposition 65, one of the nation’s strictest chemical regulations.

Among the products tested, 43 percent contained higher levels of lead than the law considers safe, and 35 percent had higher concentrations of cadmium. Both metals are considered toxic and have been associated with a range of health issues. The study did not name specific brands, but found that organic products were more likely to have higher concentrations. Products certified as “fair trade” did not have lower levels of heavy metals.

But on the whole, the levels were not so high that the average consumer should be concerned about eating dark chocolate in moderation, said Jacob Hands, the lead author on the paper and a medical student at George Washington University School of Medicine and Health Sciences.

Nearly all of the chocolates contained less than the Food and Drug Administration’s reference limits for lead, which are less stringent than the California requirement. And while both cadmium and lead can carry significant health risks, it’s not clear at this point that eating a few squares of dark chocolate poses a risk to most healthy adults.

“Just the fact that it exists doesn’t necessarily mean immediately there’s going to be some terrible health consequence,” said Laura Corlin, an associate professor of public health and community medicine at Tufts University School of Medicine who was not involved in the study.

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Consumer Preference Segments for Plant-Based Foods: The Role of Product Category

Armand v. cardello.

1 A.V. Cardello Consulting and Editing Services, Framingham, MA 01701, USA

Fabien Llobell

2 Addinsoft, XLSTAT, 75018 Paris, France

Davide Giacalone

3 SDU Innovation & Design Engineering, Department of Technology and Innovation, University of Southern Denmark, 5230 Odense, Denmark

Sok L. Chheang

4 The New Zealand Institute for Plant and Food Research Limited, Mt Albert Research Centre, Private Bag 92169, Auckland 1142, New Zealand

Sara R. Jaeger

Associated data.

Data that support the findings of this study are available upon request to the authors.

A survey of willingness to consume (WTC) 5 types of plant-based (PB) food was conducted in USA, Australia, Singapore and India ( n = 2494). In addition to WTC, emotional, conceptual and situational use characterizations were obtained. Results showed a number of distinct clusters of consumers with different patterns of WTC for PB foods within different food categories. A large group of consumers did not discriminate among PB foods across the various food categories. Six smaller, but distinct clusters of consumers had specific patterns of WTC across the examined food categories. In general, PB Milk and, to a much lesser extent, PB Cheese had highest WTC ratings. PB Fish had the lowest WTC, and two PB meat products had intermediate WTC. Emotional, conceptual and situational use characterizations exerted significant lifts/penalties on WTC. No penalty or lifts were imparted on WTC by the situational use of ‘moving my diet in a sustainable direction’, whereas uses related to ‘when I want something I like’ and ‘when I want something healthy’ generally imparted WTC lifts across clusters and food categories. The importance of this research for the study of PB foods is its demonstration that consumers are not monolithic in their willingness to consume these foods and that WTC is often a function of the food category of the PB food.

1. Introduction

Over the past decades, it has become increasingly clear that the consumption of animal products has had unsustainable effects on the environment through high demand on land, water, feed, housing and the production of greenhouse gases [ 1 , 2 , 3 , 4 , 5 , 6 , 7 , 8 , 9 , 10 ]. In addition, excess consumption of animal products is known to have harmful effects on human health, including cancer, cardiovascular disease and obesity [ 11 , 12 , 13 , 14 , 15 ]. In response to these known detrimental effects of animal protein consumption on the environment and human health, global food policy has shifted to place greater emphasis on more sustainable farming practices and protein sources [ 1 , 16 , 17 ]. Leading this trend has been the emphasis on plant-based protein consumption [ 18 , 19 , 20 ]. This trend has resulted in a dramatic increase in the number of plant-based foods, beverages, product extenders and/or meat alternatives now available globally. It is estimated that the plant-based food market will further grow from approximately $US 30 billion in 2020 to $US 160 billion by 2030 [ 21 ]. In addition to plant-based proteins, a variety of other alternative proteins are now being investigated for their potential to replace animal protein in foods, e.g., algae, insects, and cultured meat [ 22 , 23 , 24 , 25 , 26 , 27 , 28 ].

1.1. Factors Influencing Acceptance of Plant-Based and Other Alternative Proteins

With the rapid growth in the alternative protein food market, research into the factors that drive consumer choice, purchase, acceptance and consumption of foods containing these proteins has grown correspondingly. Among the many factors that influence consumer acceptance and choice behavior toward these products are their sensory properties, e.g., taste, odor, texture, appearance [ 29 , 30 , 31 , 32 , 33 , 34 , 35 , 36 , 37 , 38 ], their familiarity [ 23 , 25 , 26 , 39 , 40 , 41 , 42 , 43 , 44 ], price/brand [ 37 , 45 , 46 , 47 ] and how appropriate the alternative protein is within the meal or its context of use [ 37 , 48 , 49 , 50 , 51 ].

Other important factors relate more specifically to the individual. These include the health concerns of individuals and the perceived benefits attributed to the alternative protein [ 52 , 53 , 54 , 55 , 56 , 57 , 58 , 59 , 60 ], the consumers’ attitudes [ 36 , 44 , 55 , 61 , 62 ], their values and cultural norms [ 3 , 63 , 64 , 65 , 66 , 67 , 68 ] and their neophobic tendencies [ 25 , 28 , 32 , 38 , 40 , 44 , 69 , 70 , 71 , 72 , 73 ].

Due to the important impact of individual factors in alternative protein acceptance, several studies have searched for distinct segments of consumers with different preferences for alternative proteins. Thus, de Boer et al. [ 29 ] examined consumer involvement with food and its influence on the acceptance of alternative proteins. These researchers identified ‘trendsetters’ who sought more authentic proteins, like lentils and seaweeds, but eschewed hybrid products like meat extended with plant proteins [ 29 ]. Van der Zanden et al. [ 74 ] examined preference segments among elderly consumers and found that the type of carrier (food type) for the protein was an important differentiator among different clusters of consumers, as was the meal type (meal component vs. snack). Health-orientation was another important variable differentiating a majority of consumer segments in a study of seaweed protein consumption by Palmieri and Forleo [ 75 ], as well as in a study by Possidónio et al. [ 76 ] who identified 3 segments of alternative protein consumers; (1) hedonically motivated meat eaters uninterested in meat substitutes, (2) health-oriented meat eaters open to some meat substitutes, and (3) ethically conscious meat avoiders positive toward protein alternatives to meat. Finally, in a study by Aschemann-Witzel and Peschel [ 34 ], individuals who previously purchased or consumed vegetarian products had more differentiated associations to different protein types, suggesting that different segments of consumers may respond differentially to plant proteins depending on the category of food.

Despite the environmental and health reasons that support consumption of alternative protein foods, research has shown that consumer acceptance and choice behavior toward these products is lower than for their animal counterparts [ 77 , 78 , 79 , 80 ]. Despite the need to identify alternative proteins with the greatest potential for acceptance by consumers, most research has examined consumer attitudes and acceptance within the context of a single protein source, e.g., plants, pulses, algae, seaweed, insects, etc., and relatively fewer have studied multiple alternative proteins [ 80 ]. Among studies comparing multiple proteins, results have generally shown that plant-based proteins are more acceptable to consumers than other protein sources, e.g., seaweed and cultured meat, and that insect protein is the least preferred [ 47 , 53 , 76 , 81 , 82 , 83 , 84 ]. Nevertheless, a recent review of the literature on alternative proteins found that the vast majority of published research studies focused on insect protein and far fewer examined plant proteins [ 80 ].

1.2. Role of Food Product and Food Category

Although several studies have examined different alternative proteins or protein mixes within the same product, e.g., hamburger, milk alternatives, lasagna [ 47 , 48 , 82 , 85 , 86 ], relatively few have examined differences in acceptance/willingness to consume as a function of product type, in spite of the fact that in their review of the area, Hartmann and Siegrist [ 77 ] found that acceptance of alternative proteins varies by product and that “it is of little value to ask consumers about abstract concepts (e.g., are you willing to eat insects?”). Still fewer studies have compared consumer reactions to alternative proteins based on differences in the target food group or category (e.g., milk, cheese, meat, fish, etc.). This, too, in spite of the fact that the food category to which a product belongs has been shown to have a strong influence on consumer responses to alternative proteins.

In one series of studies, Elzerman et al. [ 49 , 50 , 87 ] showed that alternative proteins differ in acceptance depending upon the food (or food category) in which they are incorporated. For example, consumers were found to have a greater willingness to accept meat substitutes when served with spaghetti than as part of a soup. Similarly, Michel et al. [ 37 ] observed significant interactions between protein type (meat vs. non-meat) and product groups in the cognitive associations to different test products (e.g., nuggets, sausages). In still another study on alternative plant proteins, Aschemann-Witzel and Peschel [ 34 ] found differences in consumer perceptions of these products depending on food category. In their study, consumers were shown ingredient lists that accompanied sketches of two different products identified as being in the food categories of “protein drink” or “sorbets.” The ingredient list for each product category was varied to include either the term ‘protein’, ‘vegetable protein’, ‘soy protein’, ‘pea protein’ or ‘potato protein’. Results showed that the product category evoked specific associations for the protein(s), e.g., ‘nutrition’ for protein drinks and ‘functional’ for sorbets, and that more positive associations accrued to the protein drinks and more negative associations to the sorbets. Further, the nature of the protein evoked different associations depending on the food category in which it appeared. Functional roles, e.g., serving as a cohesive ingredient, were evoked for the potato and pea proteins, but only within the sorbet category.

The food category to which a specific food belongs is an important factor influencing consumer behavior toward it, because it serves a variety of purposes and needs for the consumer [ 34 ]. Primary among these is that food categories establish the context within which the product is conceptualized by the consumer. For example, ‘salmon’, as a product, is conceptually a member of the food category ‘fish’ and, thereby, accrues a variety of cognitive, emotional and situational use associations and expectations that are shared by all types of fish, e.g., specific sensory (odor, texture) expectations, expectations related to preparation, cooking, etc. Similarly, for insect proteins, although, ants, beetles, and mealworms all have different sensory attributes, consumers react to these products in a similar way, simply because they are all members of the ‘insect food’ category, which evokes both generalized neophobic and disgust responses in many individuals [ 88 , 89 , 90 , 91 , 92 , 93 ]. Even in routine CLT tests on familiar products, it has been shown that over 75% of consumers, when asked after the test whether they rated their liking of that food within the context of ‘this kind of food’ or ‘all foods’, reported that their ratings were made within the context of ‘this kind of food’ [ 48 ].

To our knowledge, it has not previously been shown across a range of possible food categories that consumers hold distinct PB food category preferences or that (for example) a high WTC for one PB food category is an unreliable predictor of WTC (and preferences) for other PB food categories. However, if true, this finding would have implications for the promotion of PB diets, since it could imply that promotional campaigns, if category generic, may resonate with fewer people than a more category-targeted campaign. Thus, one goal of the present research is to explore the degree to which WTC for PB foods is dependent on the food category to which the PB food belongs.

1.3. Objectives and Overview of the Empirical Approach

Building on the above research threads, the specific objectives of the present research were: (1) to examine consumers’ willingness to consume plant-based protein within a number of distinct food categories, (2) to determine if there are different segments of consumers who have different patterns of their willingness to consume plant-based proteins, and to (3) assess differences in the identified segments of consumers in terms of their emotional, cognitive or situational use characterizations of the different plant-based categories of food and the impact of these variables on their judgments of willingness to consume these products. The latter objective is aimed at filling the literature gap identified by Onwezen et al. [ 94 ] in which it was noted that, with minor exceptions [ 37 , 82 , 94 ] few studies have examined either the role of emotions or other affective variables on acceptance of alternative proteins or the physical or social environment in which consuming such proteins is most appropriate or contextually acceptable.

2. Materials and Methods

2.1. participants.

Consumer insights for a global challenge like sustainable food production are more comprehensive when research is conducted in multiple countries. For this reason, participants in the present research came from the United States of America (US, n = 629), the Commonwealth of Australia (AU, n = 623), the Republic of Singapore (SG, n = 627), and the Republic of India (IN, n = 615). These countries differed on several dimensions including geographical location, population size, national cultures [ 95 ], importance of F&B sectors in national economies [ 96 ], sustainable energy [ 97 ], proportion of people following a vegetarian/vegan diet [ 98 , 99 , 100 , 101 ], growth rates of plant-based foods in retail [ 102 ], as well as the regulatory and legal policies regarding the labeling of PB foods. Country selection was also informed by a desire to lessen the dominance of Sensory-Consumer research taking place in Western, Educated, Industrialized, Rich, and Democratic (WEIRD) and especially Anglocentric countries [ 103 ].

Participants had self-registered on a database managed by a web panel provider with ISO 20252:2019 accreditation (ISO: International Organization for Standardization [ 104 ]). A quota sampling strategy was imposed by country with interlocking quota for men (50%) and women (50%) across two age groups (18–45 y.o. (50%), 46–69 y.o. (50%)). The samples were not nationally representative, but diverse across a range of characteristics such as living location, educational attainment, marital status, etc. ( Table 1 ) ( Part S1 of Supplementary Materials has country specific details). High proficiency in English and regular participation household grocery shopping and food preparation (more than once a week) were imposed as eligibility criteria.

Participant characteristics for aggregate sample and by consumer segments based on willingness to consume (WTC) for plant-based (PB) food categories.

Food Neophobia (FN) scores could range between 10 and 70, with higher scores reflecting higher levels of FN. Values are mean (M) and standard deviation (SD). Food Technology Neophobia (FTN) scores could range between 13 and 91, with higher scores reflecting higher levels of FTN. Values are mean (M) and standard deviation (SD). Environmental concern (ENV) scores could range between 12 and 84, with higher scores reflecting more positive attitude toward the environment. Values are mean (M) and standard deviation (SD).

Human Ethics Statement

The study was covered by a general approval for sensory and consumer research from the Human Ethics Committee at the New Zealand Institute for Plant and Food Research Limited. Participants gave voluntary consent and were assured that their responses would remain confidential. They were informed that they could end their participation at any time. As compensation, participants received reward points which could be redeemed for online purchases.

2.2. Plant-Based Food Stimuli

The research focused on 5 plant-based (PB) foods (abbreviations for figures and tables in brackets):

• Milk—from 100% plant-based ingredients ( PB Milk )
• Cheese—from 100% plant-based ingredients ( PB Cheese )
• Meat—blend containing 33% plant-based ingredients ( PB Meat 33%)
• Meat—from 100% plant-based ingredients ( PB Meat )
• Fish—from 100% plant-based ingredients ( PB Fish )

Milk and cheese were chosen because they are both familiar but quite different sub-categories within the overall dairy category and have quite different levels of availability and consumer acceptance (milk—readily available, well accepted; cheese—less readily available, lower acceptance). Meat (100% and 33% plant-based) were chosen because meat protein is the most highly targeted protein for replacement, but percentage replacement can influence acceptance and willingness to consume. Meat hybrids like PB Meat 33% offer a more sustainable food alternative for consumers who consider meat to be an essential and integral element of their daily diet [ 105 ]. Lastly, fish was chosen as it is a more novel food category for plant-based products and identified as a niche for PB food innovations by Alcorta et al. [ 106 ].

To provide a common frame of reference, participants read a short text (written by authors SRJ and DG) before answering questions about the focal foods. It read: “Our current approaches to food production and our consumption levels are global problems because they drive climate change and environmental degradation. Animal farming is particularly damaging for the environment, and to reduce environmental impacts we must change the way we eat—increasing our consumption of plant foods while substantially limiting our intake from animal sources. To support this transition, interest has centered on those plant foods that are good sources of proteins—soybeans, nuts, peas, and some grains—and can provide a nutritionally sound alternative to foods from animals, while also being suitable for the growing number of people who do not, or cannot, eat certain animal-sourced foods (e.g., vegetarians/vegans, people who have a dairy allergy or are lactose intolerant). In the past decade, more and more of these 100% plant-based foods have become available in the [United States/Australia/Singapore/India]. PB “milks” made from, for example, soy, almonds, oats, and even cashew nuts are fairly familiar now, and plant-based “yoghurt” and “cheese” are no longer uncommon. PB “meat”, “fish”, and “seafood” are much more novel. Besides replacing foods from animals with plant-based foods, or creating blends of animal-plant foods, there is also considerable interest in developing alternative sources of animal-derived proteins. These include insects.”

The text continued to describe other novel types of foods/food technologies ( Part S2 of Supplementary Materials has the text in full). The reason was to provide background information for other foods/food technologies also included in the survey but not relevant for the present research ( Part S2 of Supplementary Materials lists these other foods).

2.3. Empirical Procedures

2.3.1. stimulus evaluation.

Stimulus evaluation proceeded in two parts. First, the plant-based food names were assessed using two check-all-that-apply (CATA) question [ 107 ], pertaining to (i) emotional and cognitive product perceptions, and (ii) situational use product perceptions. This evaluation proceeded sequentially and both CATA questions were completed before the next food name appeared. Randomization of stimuli and terms were used within CATA questions and across participants.

Drawing on a general vocabulary [ 108 ], the CATA question relating to emotional and cognitive product conceptualizations included 16 terms: ‘adventurous’, ‘boring’, ‘classy’, ‘comforting’, ‘dissatisfied’, ‘easygoing’, ‘energetic’, ‘enthusiastic’, ‘feminine’, ‘happy’, ‘inspiring’, ‘nervous’, ‘passive’, ‘powerful’, ‘pretentious’, ‘sophisticated’, ‘tense’, ‘uninspired’, ‘unique’, and ‘youthful’. The CATA question relating to situational use included 8 terms: ‘When I want something I like’, ‘When I feel like trying something new’, ‘To move my diet in a more sustainable direction’, ‘When I want something healthy’, ‘As part of meals that I post on social media’, ‘To set a good example to those around me’, ‘As a regular part of my diet’, and ‘As part of easy and convenient meals’. These were developed to address aspects of pleasure, health, environmental concern, social status, fit to diet and convenience, and drew in part on extant literature [ 109 ]. The suitability of CATA questions for measuring perceived situational appropriateness was previously demonstrated, for example, by Jaeger et al. [ 110 ]. When answering each of these CATA questions, participants were instructed to “Please think about this [stimulus name]. Select all the words that apply.”

The second part of the stimulus evaluation obtained stated willingness to consume, which was measured using the question: “How often would you consume the following foods and beverages?” and a fully labelled 9-pt category scale with anchors: 1 = ‘Never or less than once yearly’, 2 = ‘2–3 times a year’, 3 = ‘Every 2–3 months’, 4 = ‘Once every month’, 5 = ‘1–3 times per month’, 6 = ‘Once every week’, 7 = ‘2–4 times per week’, 8 = ‘5–6 times per week’, and 9 = ‘Once daily or more often’ [ 109 , 111 ]. Stimulus presentation order was randomized.

2.3.2. Psychographic Variables and Dietary Habit

Responses to psychographic variables were obtained after stimulus evaluation. The scales included in all countries were Food Neophobia (FN) [ 112 ], Food Technology Neophobia (FTN) [ 113 , 114 ] and environmental concern (ENV) [ 115 ]. The 10-item food neophobia scale is widely used to capture consumers’ stable propensity to avoid novel and unfamiliar foods (e.g., ‘I don’t trust new foods’). Across 13 items, FTN measured consumers’ fears of novel food technologies (e.g., ‘new food technologies are something I am uncertain about’ and ‘it can be risky to switch to new food technologies too quickly’). Based on a recent review of scales to measure concern for the environment, a composite scale was created combining four items from each of three existing scales [ 116 , 117 , 118 ] seeking to mitigate criticisms of existing scales. The constructed scale included 12 items (e.g., ‘If things continue on their present course, we will soon experience a major ecological catastrophe’, ‘I am worried about future children’s chance of living in a clean environment’, and ‘We shouldn’t worry about environmental problems because science and technology will solve them before very long), which are given in full in Part S3 of Supplementary Materials .

All responses were obtained on fully labelled 7-point Likert scales with anchors: ‘Disagree strongly’ (1), ‘Disagree moderately’ (2), ‘Disagree slightly’ (3), ‘Neither agree nor disagree’ (4), ‘Agree slightly’ (5), ‘Agree moderately’ (6), and ‘Agree strongly’ (7). Participants were instructed to indicate their degree of agreement or disagreement with each of the statements. Within the psychographic scales, statement order was randomized across participants.

Dietary habit was categorized using a question from De Backer and Hudders [ 119 ] with nine available options. Participants were classified as Omnivores (no limitation on consumption of meat and fish), Flexitarians (consciously limits quantity of either all types or specific types of meat) or Vegetarians (who completely avoid the consumption of meat and fish).

2.3.3. Data Collection

The survey was conducted in English and was appropriate given the status of this language as lingua franca in all four countries. High proficiency in English as an eligibility criterion further ensured that participants had the necessary language skills to complete the survey.

Demographic and socio-economic information was obtained either at the start of the survey (for quota sampling purposes) or at the end of the survey.

Data collection took place in December 2021 and January 2022, following careful revision of test links and evaluation of responses from ~10% of the total sample in each country to ensure that the survey performed as expected.

The data were obtained as part of a survey that also included other questions, which are not described further due to lack of relevance for the present research. Participants completed the task from a location of their own choosing, using a desktop or laptop computer.

Drawing on Jaeger and Cardello [ 120 ] who identify factors affecting data quality in online questionnaires, data-driven exclusion criteria were implemented relating to completion time and straight-line responding (see Part S4 of Supplementary Materials for details).

2.4. Data Analysis

All analyses were performed in XLSTAT [ 121 ], using a 5% significance level for inference tests.

2.4.1. Willingness to Consume

As directed by Obj. 1 and the exploration of consumers’ WTC for PB foods, an ANOVA followed by Tukey’s HSD multiple comparisons was performed with WTC ratings as the dependent variable and PB food category as the explanatory variable. In a second step, violin plots [ 122 ] were drawn to show the heterogeneity of the distributions of WTC ratings between PB food categories.

2.4.2. Emotional, Conceptual and Situational Use Terms

Extending the analyses linked to Obj. 1, consumer-derived profiling of the PB food categories was explored. Upon confirming that each CATA term was discriminant via Cochran’s Q tests, Correspondence Analysis was applied on the PB category x term contingency tables [ 123 ].

To determine the effect of each term on the WTC ratings, penalty/lift analysis was performed [ 123 ]. The purpose is to determine for each of the PB food categories which terms positively or negatively affect WTC. The change in WTC for each PB food is calculated and a student’s test between the average WTC when the term is checked and when the term is unchecked to establish if this difference is significantly different from zero.

2.4.3. Consumer Segmentation

To perform consumer segmentation (Obj. 2), an agglomerative hierarchical clustering based on the WTC scores across the 5 PB food categories was used. This cluster analysis was computed with the Euclidean distance and Ward’s criterion [ 124 ]. To build clusters that discriminated between the PB food categories, a centering of the WTC scores by subject was carried out beforehand. The number of clusters to retain was determined by visual inspection of the dendrogram, where a significant change of within-cluster variation highlighted a merge of two heterogeneous clusters.

To visualize differences in the WTC patterns between the clusters, the matrix of clusters x PB foods centers of gravity was calculated and submitted to a PCA based on the covariance matrix. Cluster confidence ellipses (95%) were computed by bootstrapping [ 125 ].

An ANOVA measuring the PB food category effect on the WTC scores was performed for each cluster separately. As the sample size differed greatly between clusters, effect sizes (η 2 ) were used in addition to p -values as indicators of degree of product discrimination within each cluster. ANOVAs to measure the cluster effect on each of the PB food categories separately, as well as on the category means were also computed and followed by Tukey’s multiple comparisons.

Per Obj. 3, the final step was to perform penalty/lift analysis within each of the retained clusters to determine the impact on average WTC scores on CATA term selection for each of the 5 PB food categories. Within clusters, the analysis was performed in the same manner as described in Section 2.4.2 .

2.4.4. Psychographic and Socio-Demographic Variables

For trait scales (FN, FTN) and ENV concern, summed scores for each participant were calculated across all scale items (following reverse coding as needed). Cronbach’s alpha values exceeded the 0.7 threshold for internal reliability [ 126 ].

To investigate whether the clusters were influenced by psychographic and/or socio-demographic characteristics, an analysis of the proportions of presence of different variables was performed: country, age, gender, education, and dietary preferences.

3.1. Aggregate Level Findings

3.1.1. willingness to consume.

The first objective of the present research was to examine consumers’ willingness to consume plant-based protein within a number of distinct food categories (Obj. 1). Across all countries and PB food categories, slightly more than one-third of all willingness to consume (WTC) ratings (37.3%) were for the response option ‘never or less than once yearly’ (see also Figure 1 A), while 9.6% were for the two response options indicating willingness to consume most frequently (‘5–6 times per week’ and ‘once daily or more often’). Figure 1 B shows the mean WTC ratings by PB food category for all participants across countries. The PB Milk category had the highest WTC (between ‘once every month’ and ‘1–3 times per month’) followed, in order, by PB Cheese , PB Meat and PB Meat 33% . The food category for which there was, on average, the lowest WTC was PB Fish (all between ‘every 2–3 months’ and ‘once every month’). Part S5 of Supplementary Materials shows that similar preference ordering was obtained when summarizing and analyzing the data non-parametrically.

Mean willingness to consume (WTC) ratings for aggregate sample across 2494 consumers in USA, Australia, Singapore and India shown for the five plant-based (PB) food categories included in the research. ( A ) Violin plot of WTC ratings for PB food categories, with median and interquartile range; ( B ) Mean WTC ratings, with standard error. WTC was measured on a 9-point scale (1 = ’Never or less than once yearly’, 5 = ‘1–3 times per month’, 9 = ‘Once daily or more’). In ( B ), PB food categories with different letters following Tukey’s post hoc test are significantly different at the 5% level of significance.

Heterogeneity in WTC ratings for PB food categories was revealed in Figure 1 A which shows violin plots for each of the PB food categories. It was particularly obvious that WTC ratings with notably higher than the mean and median values were provided by a modest proportion of participants. This pointed to heterogeneity in consumers’ WTC ratings and paved the way for the second objective of the present research (Obj. 2).

3.1.2. Emotional and Conceptual Product Associations

According to Cochran’s Q tests, the five PB food categories were significantly differentiated ( p < 0.05) on all emotional and conceptual terms except ‘passive’ ( p = 0.21). Overall, the most frequently used terms were ‘sophisticated’ (22%) and ‘happy’ (20%), while ‘tense’ (6%) and ’energetic’ (7%) were least frequently used ( Part S6 of Supplementary Materials has full details). Figure 2 A shows a biplot of the two first dimensions after CA, with a dominating first dimension (87.7%) ( Part S7 of Supplementary Materials shows the average stimulus positions with 95% confidence intervals). PB Milk was separated from the other PB food categories on the first dimension and most strongly associated with ‘energetic’ and ‘powerful’, and least strongly associated with ‘sophisticated’. The second dimension (8.7%) separated PB Cheese from PB Fish , with the former being significantly more frequently associated with ‘feminine’ and ‘classy’, while negative emotions – ‘dissatisfied’, ‘tense’ and ‘nervous’ were dominant for PB Fish . The associations for PM Meat and PM Meat 33% were very similar.

Results linked to emotional and conceptual product associations for aggregate sample across 2494 consumers in USA, Australia, Singapore and India shown for aggregate sample the five plant-based (PB) food categories included in the research. ( A ) Plot of the first two dimensions following Correspondence Analysis; ( B ) Impact on average willingness to consume (WTC) based on Penalty/Lift analysis. In ( A ), PB food categories are shown in bold and italic font. In ( B ), grey font used for terms where change in WTC is not significantly different from zero at the 5% level of significance.

Penalty/Lift analysis was used to identify the relationships between stimulus characterization and WTC, with Figure 2 B showing that selection of ‘happy, ‘comforting’ and ‘energetic’ was associated with a positive change in WTC of more than one scale point, and that selection of ‘boring’, ‘uninspired’ and ‘dissatisfied’ was associated with a negative change in WTC of more than one scale point. Smaller positive WTC changes (0.5 to 1 scale point) were observed for many positive and conceptual terms, while negative WTC change of a similar magnitude was associated with ‘nervous’.

3.1.3. Situational Use Product Associations

For situational use associations, the PB food categories were significantly differentiated ( p < 0.05) according to Cochran’s Q tests (except for ‘as part of meals that I post on social media’, p = 0.18). Across all stimuli, the most frequent situational use associations were ‘when I feel like trying something new’ (43%) and When I want something healthy’ (33%), while the least frequent association was ‘as part of meals that I post on social media’ (12%). Figure 3 A shows a biplot of the two first dimensions after CA, with a dominating first dimension (82.5%) ( Part S7 of Supplementary Materials shows the average stimulus positions with 95% confidence intervals). PB Milk was separated from the other four PB food categories on Dimension 1 and was the PB category most strongly associated with ‘as a regular part of my diet’ and least frequently associated with ‘when I feel like trying something new’. The second dimension (12.7%) separated PB Meat and PB Cheese , and the former was significantly more frequently associated with ‘to set a good example to those around me’ and significantly less associated with ‘when I want something I like’.

Results linked to situational use product associations for aggregate sample across 2494 consumers in USA, Australia, Singapore and India shown for the five plant-based (PB) food categories included in the research. ( A ) Plot of the first two dimensions following Correspondence Analysis; ( B ) Impact on average willingness to consume (WTC) based on Penalty/Lift analysis. In ( A ), PB food categories are shown in bold and italic font. In ( B ), change in WTC is significantly different from zero ( p < 0.05) for all terms.

The Penalty/Lift analysis ( Figure 3 B) revealed that a positive WTC change greater than one scale point was only found for ‘As a regular part of my diet’. Smaller positive, but still significant ( p < 0.05) changes in WTC were found for all other situational use situations. The exception was ‘When I feel like trying something new’. On average, selection of this use situation reduced WTC by about 0.2 WTC scale points.

3.2. Consumer Segmentation Based on Willingness to Consume

Directed by Objective 2, hierarchical cluster analysis of WTC ratings was performed on the total sample of 2494 people across the four countries. Based on the dendrogram ( Part S8 of Supplementary Materials ), a 7-cluster solution was retained. With the way of constructing the clusters being ascending, the dendrogram showed that the first notable “jump” in within-cluster variation took place between a 7-cluster and a 6-cluster solution. Moreover, the number of participants in each of the retained clusters was greater than 100, which ensured that the clusters were both homogeneous and large.

Among the 7 retained clusters there was one large cluster (1382 people; 55.4% of total sample) which could be described as PB category non-discriminators. Additionally, there was six smaller clusters (127 to 296 people per cluster; 44.6% of total sample) with distinct patterns of WTC ratings for the different PB food categories. Because the individual clusters had nuanced and complex WTC profiles for PB food category, arbitrary cluster naming (Cluster 1 to Cluster 7) was used to simplify the presentation of results and retain focus on the existence of multiple minor clusters rather than their specific individual WTC profiles.

The demographic profiles of the 7 clusters are summarized in Table 1 . There were few between-cluster differences in relation to biological sex, age group or level of education. Participants from India were notably overrepresented in Cluster 2 (63.8%), and to a lesser degree in Cluster 4 (44.6%). Other country differences among clusters were minor, with the percentage distributions ranging between 10% and 34% (relative to 25% for even distributions by country). When considering self-declared dietary preferences, omnivores were overrepresented in Clusters 1, 3 and 7 (60–68%). Flexitarians were more evenly distributed, but with a tendency to higher representation in Clusters 4 and 6 (46–48%). Compared to the overall sample, vegans were strongly overrepresented in Cluster 2 (29%), which is likely attributable to the high percentage of consumers from India falling into Cluster 2. Cluster differences for FN, FTN and environmental concern were minor and not clearly related to WTC for PB food categories.

3.2.1. PB Category Non-Discriminators: Cluster 1

In the retained solution, there was one large group of consumers (55.4%, n = 1382) whose WTC responses revealed these people to be PB category non-discriminators. While significantly different, the average WTC ratings for the five PB food categories in this cluster were very similar and the effect size was ‘nil’ (Cluster 1, Table 2 ).

Mean willingness to consume (WTC) ratings by plant-based (PB) food category for the 7-cluster solution based on the aggregate sample ( n = 2494).

WTC was measured on a 9-point scale (1 = ’Never or less than once yearly’, 5 = ‘1–3 times per month’, 9 = ‘Once daily or more’). Cluster sizes are given as % of the total sample ( n = 2494). Standard errors around WTC means were between 0.1 and 0.2 for all clusters and all PB food categories). The last two columns show p -value and effect size (η 2 ) following analysis of variance within clusters. Results from Tukey’s post hoc tests are shown, and within rows, PB food categories with same capital letters are not significant at the 5% level of significance.

A follow-up cluster analysis identified three sub-groups of consumers within Cluster 1 ( Part S9 of Supplementary Materials includes a dendrogram and a plot of WTC means). Although each of these three sub-groups were non-discriminating among food categories, they differed significantly in the magnitude of their stated WTC. The largest group ( n = 865, 34.7% of total sample) gave low WTC ratings to all five PB food categories (between ‘2–3 times a year’ and ‘never or less than once a year’). The smallest group ( n = 203, 8.1% of total sample) gave higher WTC ratings across food categories (between ‘once every month’ and ‘every 2–3 months’), while the third group ( n = 314, 12.6% of total sample) gave high WTC ratings to all PB food categories (around ‘2–4 times a week’).

Part S10 of Supplementary Materials has the demographic profiles for the Cluster 1 sub-groups and it fits that Group 2 which had the lowest average WTC across the five PB food categories (between ‘never or less than once yearly’ and ‘2–3 times a year’) comprised more older people (60%), more people with lower educational attainment (46.5%), was dominated by self-declared omnivores (73.4%) and was most food neophobic (38.4) and food technology neophobic (60.2). This was contrasted with Group 3 where average WTC was highest. In this group, people from the younger age group (18 to 45 years old) were in the majority (65.3%), as were those who had higher educational attainment (70.7%). Consumers from India were also relatively overrepresented (39.2%) in this latter group.

3.2.2. PB Category Discriminators: Clusters 2 to 7

Each of the 6 smaller segments had distinct WTC patterns by PB food category, and based on effect size, the PB category differences were largest in Cluster 5 (η 2 = 0.72) and Cluster 2 (η 2 = 0.68) ( Table 2 ). In Cluster 5 ( n = 150, 6.0% of total sample), average WTC ratings were high for PB Milk (between ‘2–4 times per week’ and ‘5–6 times per week’) and much lower for all other PB food categories. Among these consumers, PB Cheese had the highest WTC, followed by PB Meat 33% and then 100% PB Meat and PB Fish . In Cluster 2 ( n = 127, 5.1% of total sample), the high average WTC for PB Milk was similar to Cluster 5. Furthermore, in this cluster WTC for PB Cheese was also high (between ‘once every week’ and ‘2–4 times every week’). In a further parallel to Cluster 5, PB Meat 33% was the PB food category with the third highest average WTC rating (between ‘every 2–3 months’ and ‘2–3 times a year’). PB Meat and PB Fish had the lowest average WTC (around ‘2–3 times a year’). These distinct WTC profiles are seen in Figure 4 which presents two-dimensional biplots following Principal Components Analysis of mean WTC ratings by PB product category across the six category discriminating clusters ( Figure 4 A plots PC1 vs. PC2; Figure 4 B plots PC1 vs. PC3). Briefly, PC1 and PC2 separated, respectively, PB Milk and PB Cheese from the other PB food categories, while PC3 separated the two variants of PB Meat .

Two-dimensional biplots following Principal Components Analysis of mean willingness to consume (WTC) ratings for PB food categories in the six PB category discriminating clusters (Cluster 2 to Cluster 7). Confidence ellipses (95%) around average cluster positions were obtained by bootstrapping. ( A ) PC1 vs. PC2; ( B ) PC1 vs. PC3. ( A , B ), PB food categories are shown in bold and italic font.

Cluster 6 ( n = 143, 5.7% of total sample) resembled Clusters 2 and 5 by having high average WTC ratings for PB Milk and PB Cheese ( Table 1 ), as well as high WTC for PB Meat (between ‘2–4 times per week’ and ‘5–6 times per week’) ( Table 2 ). Conversely, in this cluster, WTC was lowest for PB Meat 33% (between ‘every 2–3 months’ and ‘2–3 times a year’), although still higher than in Clusters 2 and 5. Overall, Cluster 6 comprised the people who gave the highest average WTC ratings to PB foods.

In Cluster 3 ( n = 214, 8.6% of total sample), WTC for PB Milk was again high ( Table 2 ), and Cluster 3 resembled Cluster 5 in having a much lower average WTC rating for PB Cheese than PB Milk ( Figure 4 A). Differentiating its WTC profile from the other clusters was a higher WTC for 33% PB Meat compared to 100% PB Meat ( Figure 4 B). Finally, Cluster 3 resembled Cluster 6 in having an overall high WTC for PB foods ( Table 1 ).

Cluster 7 ( n = 182, 7.3% of total population) had the lowest WTC for PB Milk among the six category discriminating clusters ( Part S11 of Supplementary Materials has results from ANOVA for each of the five PB food categories separately). Consumers in this cluster rated, on average, WTC for PB Meat 33% the highest (between ‘once every month’ and ‘every 2–3 months’). PB Meat had the same average rating as PB Milk ( Table 2 ). The distinct WTC profile for Cluster 7 was clearly seen in Figure 4 .

Cluster 4 was the largest of the six category discriminating clusters ( n = 296, 11.9% of total sample) and, compared to the other five clusters, differences in mean WTC for the PB food categories were smallest (η 2 = 0.14) ( Table 2 ), which could also be seen from its position closer to the origins of the plots in Figure 4 . The WTC profile in Cluster 4 most strongly resembled that from the aggregate sample ( Figure 1 ), with highest WTC for PB Milk followed by PB Cheese , and then lower ratings for the other three PB food categories ( Table 2 ).

3.3. Emotional, Conceptual and Situational Use Drivers of Willingness to Consume in PB Category Discriminating Consumer Segments

Directed by the third objective of the research (Obj. 3), Penalty/Lift analysis was performed to identify emotional, conceptual and situational use drivers of WTC in each of the PB category discriminating consumer segments (Cluster 2 to Cluster 7). Supported by the findings from Penalty/Lift analysis, where none of the explanatory CATA terms strongly impacted WTC (change in WTC was with one exception always less than 0.5 scale points), no further consideration was given to the non-discriminating PB category cluster (Cluster 1).

3.3.1. Emotional and Conceptual Drivers of WTC by Consumer Segment

The results following Penalty/Lift analysis for PB food categories within each of the six discriminating clusters are shown in Table 3 for the 20 emotional and conceptual terms. When term selection was associated with a change in WTC that was significantly different from zero ( p < 0.05), the five terms with negative valence—‘boring’, ‘dissatisfied’, ‘nervous’, ‘tense’, and ‘uninspired’—overwhelmingly reduced WTC. Table 3 shows this by the red shading of cells and a negative value up to one WTC scale points (blank cells in Table 3 indicate that significance testing of change in WTC was not performed due to infrequent term use (<5%) for a specific PB food category; tables of citation frequencies for terms by PB food category in individual clusters are given in Part S12 of Supplementary Materials ). The two exceptions to this pattern of WTC penalties were Cluster 2 and Cluster 3, where an association between ‘nervous’ and PB Meat 33% resulted in a significant WTC increase ( Table 3 ).

Results following Penalty/Lift analysis for PB food categories in each of the six plant-based (PB) category discriminating clusters (Cluster 2 to Cluster 7), showing emotional and conceptual drivers of willingness to consume (WTC).

WTC was measured on a 9-point scale (1 = ’Never or less than once yearly’, 5 = ‘1–3 times per month’, 9 = ‘Once daily or more’). Cell values indicate average WTC change, where red shading used for emotional/conceptual terms with average WTC impact significantly less than zero ( p < 0.05) and green shading used for terms with average WTC impact significantly less than zero ( p < 0.05). Blank cells indicate that significance testing of change in WTC was not performed due to infrequent term use (<5%) for a focal PB food category. The presentation order for terms is based on grouping as ‘negative valence’, ‘positive valence’ and ‘conceptual’, shown in three blocks from left to right in the figure.

Differences between the PB food categories regarding the penalty on WTC of negative emotional associations were seen in Table 3 , with reduced WTC for PB Milk often associated with the terms ‘boring’ and ‘uninspired’. Conversely, ‘dissatisfied’ was most often associated with reduced WTC for PB Cheese . Table 3 also showed that many negative emotional associations reduced WTC for PB Milk in Cluster 7 and the same applied to PB Cheese in Cluster 6. The average negative impact on WTC was highest for PB Milk in Cluster 7, which could tentatively be explained by the low average WTC for this food category in this cluster ( Table 1 ). The largest WTC penalty (1 scale point) was observed for ‘uninspired’ in response to 33% PB Meat in Cluster 6 and is likely explained by the much lower WTC for this hybrid PB category than the other PB food categories in this cluster. Just as it was an infrequent emotion at the aggregate level ( Section 3.1.2 ), ‘tense’ was infrequently used for individual food categories within clusters and was often <5% (blank cells in Table 3 ). The only instance where selection of this term was associated with a significant WTC penalty was for PB Fish in Cluster 4.

When citation of terms with positive valence (‘enthusiastic’, ‘comforting’, ‘easygoing’, ‘energetic’, ‘happy’, and ‘inspiring’) significantly impacted WTC, the change was always positive, as seen from the green shading in Table 3 . The results aligned well with the WTC changes for terms with negative valence. For example, WTC significantly increased when ‘inspiring’ was used to characterize PB Meat 33% in Cluster 6, which fitted with the significant WTC decrease for ‘uninspired’ for this product-by-cluster combination. For PB Cheese in Cluster 5, significant WTC increases for ‘happy’ and ‘enthusiastic’ fitted with significant WTC decreases for, respectively, ‘dissatisfied’ and ‘uninspired’. Another example was PB Meat in Cluster 7, where a WTC increase for ‘comforting’ fitted with a WTC decrease for ‘tense’. In the two instances where ‘easygoing’ was significantly associated with a WTC increase, it was for PB Fish (Cluster 3 and Cluster 6).

Contrary to the systematic WTC impact for terms with negative or positive valence (respectively, WTC penalty and WTC lift), selection of conceptual terms (‘adventurous’, ‘classy’, ‘feminine’, ‘passive’, ‘powerful’, ‘pretentious’, ‘sophisticated’, ‘unique’, ‘youthful’) largely resulted in WTC increases, although some occasional WTC decreases were noted (a mix of green and red shading in Table 3 ). In the case of ‘classy’, WTC significantly increased for PB cheese in Cluster 2 and Cluster 5. However, in Cluster 3, WTC was penalized when ‘classy’ was associated with PB Milk , while it increased when this term was associated with PB Fish . The term ‘feminine’, was associated with a WTC increase for PB Fish in Cluster 6, but a WTC decrease for PB Meat . Furthermore, in Cluster 6, mixed WTC impacts were seen for ‘pretentious’, which was negative for PB Meat but positive for PB Fish and PB Cheese .

For ‘adventurous’, ‘powerful’ and ‘unique’, WTC changes were positive (green shading), although never for the same clusters and PB food categories. However, in Cluster 7, where PB Milk had the lowest within-cluster WTC rating, selection of ‘adventurous’ increased WTC. When ‘powerful’ was significantly associated with WTC increase it was only for PB Meat or PB Meat 33% . Perceiving PB food categories as ‘sophisticated’ never resulted in a significant WTC change. Least significant impacts on WTC for emotional and conceptual terms were observed for Cluster 4, which was the largest of the six PB category discriminating clusters (11.9% of total sample). There were only two instances ( Table 3 ), which both revealed a WTC penalty – PB Cheese (highest WTC in cluster) when associated with ‘boring’, PB Fish (lowest WTC in cluster) when associated with ‘tense’.

3.3.2. Situational Use Drivers of WTC by Consumer Segment

Table 4 pertains to situational use terms but is otherwise the same as Table 3 . It, shows the impact on WTC for PB food categories in each of the six plant-based (PB) category discriminating clusters (Cluster 2 to Cluster 7) as determined by Penalty/Lift analysis ( Part S13 of Supplementary Materials has citation frequency for situational use CATA terms by cluster for the five plant-based (PB) food categories). Compared with the WTC changes observed for emotional and conceptual terms, the average impacts were smaller for situation use situations.

Results following Penalty/Lift analysis for PB food categories in each of the six plant-based (PB) category discriminating clusters (Cluster 2 to Cluster 7), showing situational use drivers of willingness to consume (WTC).

WTC was measured on a 9-point scale (1 = ’Never or less than once yearly’, 5 = ‘1–3 times per month’, 9 = ‘Once daily or more’). Cell values indicate average WTC change, where red shading used for emotional/conceptual terms with average WTC impact significantly less than zero ( p < 0.05) and green shading used for terms with average WTC impact significantly less than zero ( p < 0.05).

Selection of ‘when I want something I like’ was associated with significant WTC increases in Clusters 3, 4, 6 and 7, but never pertained to PB Meat 33% . For the situational use ‘as part of easy and convenient meals’, the significant WTC increases only pertained to PB Fish (Clusters 3 and 6). The greater familiarity of PB Milk and PB Cheese compared with the other PB food categories likely explained why selection of ‘when I feel like trying something new’ was only significant in connection with these two PB food categories and negatively impacted WTC. Selection of ‘when I want something healthy’ resulted in eight significant WTC changes (6 were increases and 2 were decreases), both across and within clusters and across and within PB food categories. In the case of PB Cheese , the WTC impact was positive in Cluster 2, 3 and 5 and negative in Cluster 4. In Cluster 7, there was a significant WTC lift for PB Meat , but a significant WTC penalty for PB Meat 33% . There was also a mix of significant WTC increases and decreases for ‘as a regular part of my diet’ across clusters and PB food categories. There were mostly positive WTC changes associated with selection of ‘to set a good example to those around me’, except for Cluster 4 where a significant lift was found for PB Meat but a significant penalty for PB Cheese .

Two situational uses – ‘to move my diet in a more sustainable direction’ and ‘to set a good example to those around me’ – were never associated with significant WTC changes.

4. Discussion

4.1. willingness to consume, emotional, conceptual, and situational use characterizations for pb food categories (aggregate level).

About 2500 consumers in four countries took part in the present research, and rated WTC for five categories of PB foods – PB Milk, PB Cheese, PB Meat, PB Meat 33% and PB Fish . Across all countries and participants, WTC declined in the order as listed above, which separated the “dairy” categories from the “meat” and “fish” categories ( Figure 1 A). This finding was consistent with initial expectations that the food category to which a product belongs has an important influence on consumer responses to alternative proteins, and the contraposition of PB dairy foods with PB fish was consistent with projective mapping data that show PB dairy products on a perceptual dipole with PB fish products [ 127 ].

More generally, the ordering of the PB food categories according to WTC was consistent with the established market for PB milk being the most developed (Good Food Institute, 2022) and, therefore, most familiar to consumers. In contrast, existing challenges with product quality for PB cheese [ 128 , 129 ] and PB meat alternatives [ 130 , 131 ] has hampered migration of these products into the mainstream of consumer purchases. Lastly, PB fish is still extremely novel and not generally available to consumers. The category of fish also suffers from a relatively low level of product interest due to generally lower acceptance of fish products due to sensory, preparation and cost barriers [ 132 , 133 , 134 , 135 ].

The average WTC ratings for all PB food categories were low and between ‘1–3 times per week’ and ‘every 2–3 month’ ( Figure 1 A), which corresponded with low citation frequencies of positive emotional associations (<25% on average) ( Part S6 of Supplementary Materials ). These findings were consistent with the observed low uptake of PB food categories in general [ 109 ] but are concern for the needed transition to more sustainable food systems and consumption patterns [ 14 ]. As previously noted by, for example, [ 51 , 136 ], findings ways to help consumers to incorporate PB food categories into their diet is paramount. The present results confirmed this by showing that the situational use ‘as a regular part of my diet’ was associated with the strongest positive impact on WTC in the Penalty/Lift analysis ( Figure 3 B), followed by associations with specific benefits related to health (‘when I want something healthy’) and taste (‘when I want something I like’).

With this in mind (also known as, helping consumers to find ways to make PB foods a regular part of their diets), it was encouraging that emotional associations to the PB food categories were more positive than negative ( Part S6 of Supplementary Materials ). Thus, negative overall attitude to PB foods may not be the primary consumption barrier. This may instead lie with product and category specific factors which is an encouraging finding, since such factors can be addressed through the combined efforts of product development, information/education efforts and marketing initiatives [ 137 , 138 , 139 ]. The conceptual associations supported the notion that marketing and branding efforts can play a role in increasing uptake since significant impacts on WTC were seen for ‘sophisticated’, ‘feminine’, ‘powerful’, ‘classy’, ‘youthful, ‘comforting’ ( Figure 3 B). Shaping perceptions of PB food categories in positive ways through such conceptual associations can help to overcome negative stereotypes related to early market introductions of poorer quality plant-based products, as described by Cardello et al. [ 48 ] in the case of PB milk.

Associations to ‘adventurous’ and ‘unique’ were, on average, also found to positively impact WTC, and as above, branding and product positioning can capitalize on these associations, although care should be taken to ensure that such market positioning does not evoke conceptualizations of extreme novelty that may evoke neophobic responses. This is the case, because consumers with higher levels of food neophobia are known to be laggards in the uptake of PB foods [ 69 , 140 , 141 , 142 ], and further associating such foods to novelty might slow their uptake among this group of consumers. More generally, harnessing the novelty of PB food categories as a pathway to greater consumption also seems questionable given the finding that WTC was slightly, but significantly reduced (~0.2 scale points) with the selection of the situational use ‘when I feel like trying something new’. This suggests an expectation that unfamiliar PB foods may not provide enjoyable sensory experiences. Such negative expectations have been raised previously with regard to PB foods [ 48 , 143 ], although as the development of PB foods progresses and products of higher sensory and hedonic quality appear in the market, such negative expectations are likely to diminish.

4.2. Consumer Segmentation Based on Willingness to Consume Different PB Food Categories

4.2.1. consumer segments based on wtc for pb food categories.

The average WTC ratings for the PB food categories masked significant heterogeneity in ratings from individual consumers ( Figure 1 B) and a 7-cluster solution was derived comprising one large PB non-category discriminating cluster (~55% of participants) and six smaller PB category discriminating clusters (~45% of participants). It was a key finding of the present research that about half of the participants viewed all PB food categories similarly be it relatively positively (with higher WTC ratings) or quite negatively (with low/lower WTC ratings)—while the remaining participants displayed varying preferences (as proxied by WTC) for the different PB food categories. To our knowledge, it has not previously been shown within the context of a wide range of food categories that consumers hold highly specific PB food category preferences, and that, for these people, a high WTC for one PB food category is an unreliable predictor of WTC (and preferences) for other PB food categories. This insight has implications for the promotion of PB diets, since it implies that generic marketing efforts to improve PB consumption may not have their desired effect, because consumers are more or less open to PB foods within one or more food categories, but not others. Future research is needed to explore this possibility and better understand whether consumers are receptive for persuasive arguments regarding increasing PB food consumption for categories where they have low WTC.

While the six PB discriminating clusters (Clusters 2 to 7 in Table 2 ) had distinct WTC profiles ( Figure 2 ), they also showed consistency, in that PB Milk always had the highest/second highest WTC rating, while PB Fish always had the lowest/second lowest WTC rating. This corresponded with the aggregate sample WTC results discussed in Section 4.1 . The greatest between-cluster differences in WTC were seen for PB Cheese , PB Meat and PB Meat 33%, which in individual clusters varied between having the highest and/or lowest WTC ratings. The PB category discriminating clusters also differed in overall WTC for PB foods, as seen in the average WTC ratings in the second column of Table 2 . Clusters 4 and 6 had similar high overall WTC, but this was underpinned by different WTC for 4 of the 5 individual PB food categories (except PB Fish ) ( Part S8 of Supplementary Material has post hoc cluster comparisons of WTC within PB food categories). In Clusters 4 and 6, the greatest share of people who self-declared as flexitarians (46–48%) were found ( Table 1 ). This was in sharp contrast to Cluster 2 which had the lowest overall WTC and “rejected” PB food categories other than PB Milk . The highest proportion of self-declared vegans/vegetarians were found in this cluster (29%), confirming previous reports that many PB foods lack appeal for such consumers [ 37 ]. The overall WTC in Clusters 3 and 7 was equally low (about ‘once a month’ on average), but this was underpinned by significant differences in WTC for 3 of the 5 PB food categories ( PB Milk, PB Cheese and PB Fish ; Part S8 of Supplementary Material ). The low overall WTC fitted with the self-declared dietary preferences, which was dominated by omnivores (60–65%) and the near absence of veg*ns (1–4%) ( Table 1 ).

The drivers of the uncovered cluster specific PB food category preferences is likely multifactorial, and also an interactive function of personal cognitive, experiential and value-based associations with PB foods and the specific food categories used in this study. For example, PB Milk had highest WTC among most clusters, but it was also perceived as healthier and tastier than most of the other PB food categories according to the situational appropriateness data ( Part S10B of Supplementary Materials ). While consumers may believe that all PB foods are equally sustainable, these environmental benefits may not lead to an increased WTC, unless other benefits (sensory, health) are also associated with some of the less familiar food categories, like PB Fish . Similarly, previous disappointing experiences with PB foods within a specific category, e.g., PB cheeses, can disrupt any generalized halo effect across categories. Likewise, it is possible to envisage consumers making the inference that that if they dislike, e.g., fish, they will also likely dislike PB fish, and in the case of PB Meat 33% , it is possible to imagine that people may eschew such a product with the reasoning that they prefer to just eat less meat than eating a PB blend.

By gaining a better understanding of the preference drivers within each cluster, it becomes possible to understand the unique profiles more fully and how to achieve greater PB food uptake. This could take many forms, including a focus on increasing consumption for the PB food category with lowest WTC or focusing on achieving a complete substitution to PB alternatives in the food category where WTC was highest, or combinations hereof. Suggestions like these resonate with previous authors including Lang [ 136 ] who note that understanding consumer context and motivations for adopting PB foods has important consequences for marketing positioning, messaging and promotion.

4.2.2. Emotional, Cognitive and Situational Use Drivers of WTC in PB Food Category Discriminating Clusters

Systematically, across all PB food categories and clusters, WTC decreased significantly when associations were made to negative emotions. Similarly, WTC increased significantly when associations were made to positive emotions. However, based on number of significant WTC changes ( Table 3 ), an overall positive effect on WTC was less certain. This could suggest that care must be taken to avoid negative emotions for PB product consumption experiences and understanding that, if they occur, their impact may be greater, in accordance with prospect theory where “losses loom larger” [ 144 , 145 ].

An association between ‘nervous’ and PB Meat 33% resulted in a significant WTC increase in Clusters 2 and 3 ( Table 3 . At a first glance this result was counter intuitive in the sense that a negative emotion would be associated with greater WTC. However, it is possible that consumers in these two clusters were positive about such meat hybrids being available in the marketplace, while at the same time experiencing some nervousness and unease about them because they do not understand what they are. For example, the stimulus description used in this study ( Meat—blend containing 33% plant-based ingredients ) lacked specificity about the source of the non-PB part of the blend. In spite of years of development efforts on hybrid meat products, e.g., PB-extended hamburger products [ 146 ], sensory quality issues remain. Grasso and Jaworska [ 147 ] who summarized recent commercial developments in the UK in the hybrid meat category noted mixed results in relation to attempts to bring products to market. The authors reported that several early launches had not maintained a place in the market and suggested that hybrids have been received with confusion and are not understood by consumers, leaving them as a minor alternative for those most attached to meat [ 86 ]. Desire for ingredient transparency and clean labels by consumers in relation to PB foods [ 34 , 148 ] is also consistent with the need to reduce this continuing confusion with hybrid products.

Health and environmental concern are often regarded as the two key motivators for PB food consumption [ 109 ]. In this regard it was interesting that the health-related situational use situation (‘when I want something healthy’) was significantly associated with WTC change in the PB category discriminating clusters, while the environment-related use situation (‘when I want to move my diet in a more sustainable direction’) never was ( Table 4 ). Tentatively both factors are important for motivating PB food uptake, but only personal health concerns are effective at regulating the frequency of consumption. A slightly different interpretation would be that consumers feel that they are actively contributing to the needed sustainability transition if they sometimes eat PB foods, and that as long as they do so sometimes, environmental and biodiversity challenges are not sufficient to motivate increases in PB food consumption. In a study on meat hybrids, Profeta et al. [ 105 ] found that choice probability increased with perceived product healthiness, and that this self-centered motive seemed to outperform altruistic motives like animal welfare or environmental concerns when it came to choices within this emerging product category. In a similar vein, Grasso and Jaworska [ 147 ] noted that the most recent meat hybrid product launches did not mention flexitarianism and instead stressed flavor, healthiness and convenience, including messages such as “5-a-day”, the convenience of having vegetables already in minced meat and the use of vegetables as flavor enhancers.

Of further interest regarding the role of healthiness in driving WTC for PB foods, was the result in Cluster 7. For the situational use ‘when I want something healthy’ there was a significant WTC lift for PB Meat , but a significant WTC penalty for PB Meat 33% . Interestingly, the latter had the highest within-cluster WTC, suggesting good intention to consume, but not because of a positive health perception of this hybrid product. None of the other situational uses were associated with significant WTC increases for this cluster-product combination suggesting that other drivers likely exist which explain reasons for consumption or lack thereof. A worthy extension of the present research would be to include more PB category consumption drivers and to disregard those not having relevance. The use ‘as part of meal that I post on social media about’ did not provide useful insights, suggesting that “bragging” about PB food consumption is not something to which consumers in this sample aspired. Had the sample comprised more young people, then social media use may have been cited more frequently, because use of social media is known to decline with age [ 149 ].

The result from Cluster 4 further supported the notion that the situational uses included in the present research were not fully encompassing of uses and motivations for consumption. Notably, PB Cheese had the highest within-cluster WTC (around ‘once every week’), but significant WTC decreases were associated with selection of ‘when I want something healthy’, ‘as a regular part of my diet’, and ‘to set a good example to those around me’. This suggested that these were not reasons that motivated consumption for consumers in Cluster 4.

4.3. Limitations and Suggestions for Future Research

It should be noted that the short text presented to all participants prior to the study, although designed to establish a common frame of reference for all participants, may also have had an influence on participant responses. However, any influence of this text on responses would be a random effect, unlikely to differentially influence responses among consumer segments or food categories. In addition, it should be noted that PB food categories extend far beyond those included in the present research. Some of these categories would be interesting to consider further in relation to category vs. product-specific preferences and would add desirable diversity in terms encompassing ready-to-eat foods (e.g., PB pizza), menu dishes (e.g., PB lasagna), condiments (e.g., PB mayonnaise), and desserts (e.g., PB ice-cream). Whether an ice-cream is PB or not may not matter greatly to consumers considering that ice-cream is an indulgence product and sensory quality and enjoyment is paramount [ 150 , 151 ]. However, it is likely that PB meat topping on a pizza is perceived differently from the patty of a PB meat burger or from the PB meat category in general. Previously, in support of the notion that “gastronomic context” matters, Elzerman et al. [ 49 , 50 ] found that meat substitutes are perceived differently depending on their shape (e.g., pieces vs. mince) and the type of meals they are in (e.g., pasta, soup, and salad). Future research should also look to emerging PB categories, notably PB eggs, which is a new growth category in the PB space [ 152 ]. The latter products are interesting because of the important nutritional properties of eggs, their multi-functionality in cooking, and the fact that they may have an important impact on overall PB food consumption and dietary health.

There is often considerable interest in the effect of demographic and socio-economic variables on consumer responses. Where testable hypotheses relating to these can be developed we encourage their testing as part of future research.

5. Conclusions

It is clear from the present study that the food category to which a plant-based food belongs can be an important factor in the willingness to consume PB alternatives to animal products. In particular, a large number of distinct clusters of consumers with different WTC for PB foods falling into different food categories was observed in the present research. Among these clusters, there also exists a large cluster of consumers who are less differentiating in their WTC PB products, although they differ significantly in the magnitude of their WTC for these products. In general, WTC is greatest among consumers for PB Milk vs. PB Cheese or PB Meat (100% or 33%). PB Fish had generally low WTC for all consumer groups. Emotional, conceptual and situational use characterizations of the PB foods by food category, combined with penalty/lift analysis of the effect of these characterizations on WTC, showed significant effects on WTC. Positive and negative emotional associations effected corresponding positive and negative effects on WTC. Specific conceptualizations, like ‘adventurous’, ‘classy’, ‘feminine’, and ‘pretentious’ had important contributions to WTC for specific PB food categories and within specific consumer clusters. Similarly, most situational use characterizations drove WTC positively, e.g., ‘when I want something healthy’ or ‘when I want something I like’, or negatively, e.g., ‘when I feel like trying something new’, within PB food discriminating clusters, although specific PB food category-cluster combinations produced alternative effects. In sum, the data urge caution when interpreting data on plant-based food preferences/WTC without taking consideration of the specific food category to which the PB food belongs. Findings regarding PB food preferences within one food category should not be generalized to other food categories.

Acknowledgments

Staff at the Sensory & Consumer Science Team at PFR are thanked for help with data collection and management.

Supplementary Materials

The following supporting information can be downloaded at: https://www.mdpi.com/article/10.3390/foods11193059/s1 : (1) Summary of participant characteristics by country; (2) List of 12 food technologies and background text given to participants about each of these; (3) Items included in the environmental concern scale; (4) Information regarding online data quality by country; (5) Descriptive statistics and non-parametric tests for the 5 PB food categories (aggregate sample); (6) Citation frequency for emotion, conceptual and situational use terms by for the five plant-based (PB) food categories; (7) Stimuli plots with 95% confidence intervals following Correspondence Analysis (aggregate sample) for emotional/conceptual and situational use responses; (8) Results following hierarchical cluster analysis on willingness to consume (WTC) ratings (7-cluster solution for aggregate sample); (9) Results following hierarchical cluster analysis on willingness to consume (WTC) ratings (3 sub-groups in C1 from aggregate sample); (10) Summary of participant characteristics in the 3 sub-groups of the PB food non-discriminating cluster (Cluster 1); (11) Results of ANOVA of WTC across clusters by PB food category; (12) Citation frequency for emotional and conceptual CATA terms by cluster for the five plant-based (PB) food categories; (13) Citation frequency for situational use CATA terms by cluster for the five plant-based (PB) food categories [ 153 , 154 ].

Funding Statement

Financial support was received from two sources: (1) The New Zealand Institute for Plant and Food Research Limited, and (2) The New Zealand Ministry for Business, Innovation & Employment.

Author Contributions

A.V.C.: Conceptualization, Writing—Original draft, Writing—Review and Editing. F.L.: Formal analysis, Visualization, Writing—Review and Editing. D.G.: Conceptualization, Methodology, Writing—Review and Editing. S.L.C.: Investigation, Data curation. S.R.J.: Conceptualization, Methodology, Visualization, Writing—Original draft, Writing—Review and Editing. All authors have read and agreed to the published version of the manuscript.

Institutional Review Board Statement

The study was conducted in accordance with the Declaration of Helsinki. It was covered by a general approval for sensory and consumer research from the Human Ethics Committee at the New Zealand Institute for Plant and Food Research Limited (205-2021, 649-2021).

Informed Consent Statement

Informed consent was obtained from all subjects involved in the study.

Data Availability Statement

Conflicts of interest.

The authors declare no conflict of interest. The funders had no role in the design of the study; in the collection, analyses, or interpretation of data; in the writing of the manuscript; or in the decision to publish the results. The companies did not affect the authenticity and objectivity of the experimental results of this work.

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Low carbon sustainable diet choices—an analysis of the driving factors behind plant-based egg purchasing behavior.

1. Introduction

2. literature review and hypothesis development, 2.1. value-belief-norm theory, 2.1.1. the role of value orientation, 2.1.2. environmental beliefs and awareness, 2.1.3. personal norms and environmental behavior, 2.2. theory of planned behavior, 2.2.1. behavioral intention (bi), 2.2.2. attitude (at), 2.2.3. subjective norm (sn), 2.2.4. perceived behavioral control (pbc), 3. research methodology, 3.1. research framework, 3.2. research design, 3.3. sample and data collection, 3.4. methods of data analysis, 4. analysis and results, 4.1. demographic analysis, 4.2. measurement model: reliability and validity, 4.3. model fit test, 4.4. overall model path analysis, 5. discussion, 5.1. the influence of biospheric and altruistic values, 5.2. outcome awareness as a mediator, 5.3. attitudes, subjective norms, and perceived behavioral control, 5.4. contributions and implications, 6. conclusions and recommendations, 6.1. research conclusions, 6.2. management recommendations, 6.3. research limitations and future research directions, author contributions, institutional review board statement, informed consent statement, data availability statement, acknowledgments, conflicts of interest.

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Li, P.; Lin, I.-K.; Chen, H.-S. Low Carbon Sustainable Diet Choices—An Analysis of the Driving Factors behind Plant-Based Egg Purchasing Behavior. Nutrients 2024 , 16 , 2604. https://doi.org/10.3390/nu16162604

Li P, Lin I-K, Chen H-S. Low Carbon Sustainable Diet Choices—An Analysis of the Driving Factors behind Plant-Based Egg Purchasing Behavior. Nutrients . 2024; 16(16):2604. https://doi.org/10.3390/nu16162604

Li, Ping, I-Kai Lin, and Han-Shen Chen. 2024. "Low Carbon Sustainable Diet Choices—An Analysis of the Driving Factors behind Plant-Based Egg Purchasing Behavior" Nutrients 16, no. 16: 2604. https://doi.org/10.3390/nu16162604

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EDITORIAL article

Editorial: advances in conservation and utilization of plant genetic resources.

• 1 Department of Agriculture, Inland Norway University of Applied Sciences, Elverum, Norway
• 2 World Vegetable Center, Shanhua, Taiwan
• 3 Plant Gene Resources of Canada, Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada (AAFC), Saskatoon, SK, Canada

Editorial on the Research Topic Advances in conservation and utilization of plant genetic resources

We made a broad call for perspective papers, systematic reviews, meta-analyses, or traditional research papers on topics related to conservation and use of plant genetic resources. We invited to present advances in characterization and evaluation, strategies to improve gene bank operations and collaboration, new tools for managing and sharing information, or novel knowledge of conservation gaps. We especially encouraged contributions on underutilized crops and crops wild relatives. We received 58 positive responses, whereof 20 finalized their submissions and passed the review process with a total of 125 authors included in the accepted papers. Our motivation was to assemble contributions underlining that genetic resources are essential for crop improvement, which is achieved via plant breeding and release of new varieties that farmers cand access and use. We see that future crops need to produce high and stable yields but also be of high nutritional quality. They must adapt to shifting climates and support a sustainable agricultural or horticultural production avoiding negative environmental impacts. In addition, we need to contribute to efforts to avoid the loss of biodiversity, including the genetic resources of crop plants and crop wild relatives, which are in our focus. We are aware that there is a large body of research and literature on this, because plant breeders in the late 19 th century already imitated research and conservation activities which serve the same purpose and they recognized the loss of biodiversity, albeit not using this term. However, the global biodiversity crisis has become much bigger and globally recognized and any additional step, any additional insight addressing this topic is worth to be shared. At the same time more and more genomic tools and other technologies are available to add to our understanding of diversity and can support conservation and target promising germplasm for further research and breeding. We hope this special edition will be a small additional step in a positive direction, part of the evolutionary process of coping with the grand challenges we all face.

Conservation

Six papers focused on conservation, which included conservation methods and priorities as well as core collections. Of these, one is a review paper and five are research articles.

Subramanian et al. ’s review on Brassica biodiversity conservation discusses issues related to distribution of accessions, conservation methods, technical hurdles and future avenues for research. Despite that there are more than 80,000 Brassica accessions conserved across 81 countries the authors see that the diversity of the conserved taxa is limited in most countries, which they see may lead to biodiversity loss in the longer run. In addition, they see practical challenges as taxonomic issues in the conservation system.

The research paper from Weise et al. focuses on the rapeseed ( Brassica napus L.) gene pool that is conserved in European genebanks. They highlight that most of these species are underrepresented in current collections and that many of the natural distribution areas are not covered as it stands now. By using niche modelling they further illustrate how climate change may affect the species’ distribution ranges. The authors suggest to further develop the conservation strategies for the rapeseed gene pool and propose a list of priority species that should be targeted for collecting missions.

Carvajal-Yepes et al. made a work to identify genetically redundant accessions in the world’s largest cassava ( Manihot esculenta ) collection with 5,302 accessions maintained at the International Center for Tropical Agriculture (CIAT). Am empirical distance threshold methodology was applied with two types of molecular markers (SNP and SilicoDArT). The results showed 2,776 (SNP) and 2,785 (SilicoDArT) accessions were part of accession clusters. By comparing passport and historical characterization data clusters of genetically redundant accessions the authors provided a roadmap for genebank curators to assess redundancy within collections and/or identifying subsets of genetically distinct accessions.

Almeida et al. presented a methodology for landrace threat assessment which can assist in setting priorities for conservation. The methodology of this work was in line with the IUCN Red Listing judgement for wild species and involves the collation of time series information on population range and trends. Unlike for wild species the information used here involved farmers and market actors. The authors conclude that the archived information can be compared to a standardized set of threat criteria with a set threshold level and the methodology can be applied to any crop and geographical scale.

Dos Santos et al. developed a core collection of the cassava ( Manihot esculenta Crantz) germplasm bank in Brazil based on morphological traits, agronomic traits, and genotypic data from 20k single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs). Out of the 1,486 accessions in the germplasm bank a consolidated core with 204 accessions was suggested, which is 14% of the complete collection. This core collection showed less genetic variation but retained over 97% of the allelic richness compared to the complete collection. The authors see that the core approach provides a robust and representative resource for further research and breeding in cassava.

Bernad et al. examined the genetic diversity and population structure of the newly introduced two-row spring European Heritage Barley collection. This is a small collection which consists of 363 spring-barley accessions mainly from Northern Europe and include both landraces (~14%), old cultivars (~18%), elite cultivars (~67%) and accessions with unknown breeding history (~1%). The authors used 26,585 informative SNPs based on 50k iSelect array data and the results showed that the collection could be subdivided into three main clusters. The clusters were primarily based on the accession’s year of release. Furthermore, power analysis identified a core with 230 genotypically and phenotypically diverse accessions, which shows that the collection represents a high diversity and can be a resource for research and breeding.

Characterization and evaluation

Twelve research articles from recent characterization and evaluation projects are presented, which included a range of crops, methods and aims and showing how molecular markers and genomic tools can help to identify promising germplasm for further phenotyping and evaluation.

Gomez-Galvez et al. examined more than 500 olive ( Olea europaea L.) genotypes from different regions in Spain based on 96 EST-SNP markers and identified 173 new genotypes. Based on this work the number of distinct Spanish genotypes documented in the World Olive Germplasm Bank of IFAPA, Córdoba increased from 269 to 427 accessions. In addition, a new diversity hot spot was identified in the northern regions of La Rioja and Aragon. According to the authors this adds to the great diversity already described in Spanish olive germplasm. The authors highlight the risk of genetic erosion given the expansion of modern olive cultivation with only a few cultivars and argue that conserving a broad range of genotypes will be crucial to meet the future challenges of olive cultivation. To further enhance the conservation and use of these accessions, the World Olive Germplasm Bank of Córdoba was recognized in June 2024 to become an international collection following Article 15 of the International Treaty on Plant Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture.

Adhikari et al. conducted a genomic characterization using more than 45k SNPs of the 1,041 Aegilops accessions preserved in the Wheat Genetics Resource Center (WGRC) collection. The Aegilops genus contains a range of crop wild relative species which are regarded as critical for future wheat crop improvements. The authors present phylogenetic tree and principal component analyses that showed some species overlap but also pathways of species evolution and diversification. The high genetic diversity identified among the species indicate their importance as genetic resources for future wheat breeding. For genebank curation the study found 49 misclassified and 28 sets of redundant accessions in the WGRC collection.

Berkner et al. worked on genomic prediction to identify winter wheat accessions that can be used to breed varieties with a combined high protein and high lysine content. Their point of departure was a large-scale screening that was conducted back in the 1970s at the Leibniz Institute of Plant Genetics and Crop Plant Research in Germany. Additionally, they used a genomic dataset generated in 2022. The datasets were curated, four genomic prediction approaches were compared, and the best model was used to predict the traits of interests. Out of the 7,651 accessions included in the predictions, five accessions were highlighted as combining outstanding high protein content with high lysine content.

Chao et al. examined the genetic diversity and population structure of annual medicks ( Medicago spp.) from the Crimean Peninsula of Ukraine collected in 2008. The colleting mission was done to fill gaps at National Plant Germplasm System in USA and 102 accessions from 10 species were collected. The authors present the results from characterization work, which included 24 phenotypic descriptors and a 3k SNP marker set developed for lucerne (alfalfa). The results showed a high reproducibility between single and pooled biological replicate leaf samples, which indicates that sampling individual plants for these mostly self-pollinating species is sufficient. According to the authors the phenotypic descriptors and the applied SNP marker set was useful in assessing the population structure.

Liu et al. conducted a complete mitochondrial genome characterization and phylogenetic analysis of the endangered species Prunus pedunculata in China. The authors highlight that the results provide a basis for understanding the evolution of the genetic background and genetic breeding of Prunus.

Abondano et al. compared single plants, multiple plants, and DNA pools sampling strategies for DArTseq genotyping common bean ( Phaseolus vulgaris L.) landraces from the Alliance Biodiversity and CIAT gene bank. They concluded that pooling tissue from 25 individual plants per accession was a viable approach for characterizing germplasm compared to genotyping individual plants separately by balancing genotyping effort and costs. The results add valuable insights for characterization of collections and in marker-trait association studies.

Loarca et al. evaluated shoot-growth variation in a diversity panel of 695 accessions of carrot ( Daucus carota L.) from the United States Department of Agriculture National Plant Germplasm System. They found phenotypic variability for seedling emergence and early-season canopy coverage, which is indicating quantitative inheritance and potential for improvement through plant breeding. Accessions with high emergence and vigorous canopy growth are of immediate use to breeders targeting stand establishment, weed-tolerance, or weed-suppressant carrots, which is of advantage to the organic carrot production. In a second paper Loarca et al. evaluated flowering habit trait of the same accessions. They found a high broad-sense heritability for biennial flowering habit which indicates a strong genetic component of this trait.

Li et al. conducted phylogeographic analysis of the native grass Elymus nutans using microsatellite markers and covering 361 individual plants across 35 populations from the Qinghai-Tibetan plateau. The species has pastoral and environmental importance, and the study unveiled a notable degree of genetic diversity. Correlations were established between external environmental factors and effective alleles potentially linked to glutathione S-transferases T1 or hypothetical proteins, which are affecting environmental adaptation.

An et al. analyzed the genetic diversity and structure of a perennial evergreen tree Albizia odoratissima using 16 simple sequence repeat markers and covering 280 individuals across 10 populations from Hainan Island and mainland China. The genetic diversity of Hainan population was lower than that of the mainland population Furthermore there were significant differences in the genetic structure between Hainan and mainland populations.

Lu et al. examined the diversity of an herbaceous climber Dioscorea bulbifera native to Africa and Asia and locally used as vegetable and medicine. The study included accessions from mainland China and Taiwan that were analyzed using SSR marker and phylogenetic analyses. They showed structural features across accessions and three distinct clades indicating potential genetic divergence among populations from different geographic regions in China and Taiwan.

Yang et al. present a characterization work on an unusual type of horny goat weed ( Epimedium koreanum Nakai) discovered in the Jilin Province in China. Horny goat weed is a well-known traditional Chinese medicinal herb that is collected from natural habitats. The newly discovered type had much higher number of leaflets than commonly found (27 compared to 9). By DNA barcoding this novel type was identified as E. koreanum. Parallel RNA-seq analysis showed 1171 differentially expressed genes compared to wild type. Due to a decreasing natural population cultivation could be an alternative source for utilization and this high leaf-yielding Epimedium plant could be potentially used in breeding or cultivation.

Breeding and seed systems

Two research articles are presented, which includes one article on international breeding collaboration to achieve frost tolerance in potato, and one article overviewing breeding seeds as part of the official seed system in India.

Arcos-Pineda et al. report the results from an international breeding project using a wild potato relative Solanum commersonii that resulted in two new frost-tolerant native potato cultivars for the Andes and the Altiplano. The project was a collaboration between partners from USA and Peru as well as the International Potato Center (CIP). After 8 years of breeding the two new cultivars were released. The project shows that international collaboration and the use of valuable genetic diversity can produce results of importance for food security.

Chand et al. provide a retrospective overview on the seed production system of lucerne ( Medicago sativa L.) in India. Out of 14 lucerne varieties released and notified over the past 24 years, only nine entered the seed chain. The varietal replacement rate was found to be moderate, and the authors present a holistic overview and a way forward to develop more varieties and improved production of certified seeds in the country.

The provided contributions cover a good mix of topics related to conservation and utilization of plant genetic resources from across the globe, but we miss reports from Africa. We know that more and more research is being done on neglected and underutilized species in this region. On the other hand, we note active work on these matters especially in China. We further note a strong molecular emphasis but that many challenges of managing genetic resources be in genebanks or in in situ situations are the same as they were before.

Author contributions

SS: Writing – original draft, Writing – review & editing. MZ: Writing – original draft, Writing – review & editing. AD: Writing – original draft, Writing – review & editing.

Conflict of interest

The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest.

The author(s) declared that they were an editorial board member of Frontiers, at the time of submission. This had no impact on the peer review process and the final decision.

Publisher’s note

All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations, or those of the publisher, the editors and the reviewers. Any product that may be evaluated in this article, or claim that may be made by its manufacturer, is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher.

Keywords: conservation, crop wild relatives, diversity, evaluation, food security, genebank, plant genetic resources, seed bank

Citation: Solberg SØ, van Zonneveld M and Diederichsen A (2024) Editorial: Advances in conservation and utilization of plant genetic resources. Front. Plant Sci. 15:1468904. doi: 10.3389/fpls.2024.1468904

Received: 22 July 2024; Accepted: 29 July 2024; Published: 07 August 2024.

Edited and Reviewed by:

Copyright © 2024 Solberg, van Zonneveld and Diederichsen. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY) . The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) and the copyright owner(s) are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.

*Correspondence: Svein Øivind Solberg, [email protected]

Disclaimer: All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations, or those of the publisher, the editors and the reviewers. Any product that may be evaluated in this article or claim that may be made by its manufacturer is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher.

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A top nutrition scientist and gut health expert shares the two supplements he takes — and the three he ditched

• Dr. Tim Spector, a nutrition scientist and gut health expert, has stopped taking most supplements.
• Spector still takes two supplements that he said are backed by research.
• He explained why he doesn't take vitamin D, but does take vitamin B12.

Supplements can feel inescapable: they're seemingly in every grocery store and being peddled by influencers across social media. But with dietitians recommending people get their nutrients from food, it can be hard to know whether we should join the more than half of US adults who take supplements every day, according to the CDC.

Dr. Tim Spector , a top British epidemiologist, gut health expert, and cofounder of the science and nutrition company ZOE, has a simple answer: no.

After assessing the evidence, he stopped taking vitamin C, vitamin D, and omega-3 supplements .

"The science doesn't back up any of these as definitely working, so people are just wasting their money," he told Business Insider.

The jury is still out on supplements — some studies suggest supplements could be beneficial for healthy aging , among other things. However, some experts, such as supplement researcher Dr. Andrea Myer and writer Michael Pollan , have previously told BI that they get their nutrients from food and don't bother with supplements.

Spector thinks that 99.9% of all supplements are "completely worthless."

"Unless you have a medical condition, you really don't need these supplements," he said. "Evidence shows that we only need tiny amounts of these substances, and getting extra doesn't help."

That being said, Spector has continued to take two supplements (on top of eating a gut-healthy diet ) that he said research supports.

Spector takes vitamin B12 because he mostly eats plant-based

Spector eats a mostly plant-based diet, so he takes a B12 supplement most days. He skips it on the one or two days a month he eats meat and fish.

Related stories

People who don't eat meat can struggle to get enough B12 in their diets because it's mostly found in meat, eggs, and dairy, but we need it to make DNA and to keep blood and nerve cells healthy.

BI previously reported that vegans and vegetarians can also increase the amount of B12 in their diets by eating algae.

He also uses ZOE's food additive as a supplement

Spector also uses a scoop of ZOE's new "Daily 30" mix to supplement his healthy diet.

Daily 30 is a minimally processed mixture of whole foods, including eight types of mushrooms, seven fruits and vegetables, six types of seeds, five herbs, three types of nuts, and two legumes and whole grains. It's meant to be added to meals to increase the diversity of plants people eat each day.

Spector previously told BI that eating 30 plants a week is key for a healthy gut, because the more diverse a person's diet, the better their gut health. The number 30 comes from a 2018 study called The American Gut Project by researchers at the University of California, San Diego. Samples from over 11,000 participants showed that those who ate more than 30 plants a week had much more diverse gut microbiomes than those who ate fewer than 10.

You can also make your own version of the Daily 30. BI previously reported on Spector's " diversity jar ," which is a similar mix of nuts, seeds, and other plants that can be added to meals.

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The health benefits of fruits and vegetables: taste the rainbow

Posted on August 12, 2024 by Ed Kromer . This entry was posted in Eating Well . Bookmark the permalink .

The author Michael Pollen has boiled down the contents of several bestselling books and a lifetime of inquiry on healthy dining into a prescriptive motto with the economy of a haiku: “eat food, not too much, mostly plants.”

Mostly plants . It sounds like a virtuous sentiment. But why? What is it that fruits and vegetables provide that you can’t get from animal proteins, processed foods and supplements?

We asked UW Medicine dietitian Anna Fogel to help us understand why eating produce is so important to our health and well-being.

“From a dietitian’s perspective, we think about food as either being calorie dense or nutrient dense,” she says. “We categorize highly processed foods as calorie dense. Fruits and vegetables, lean protein and whole grains are nutrient dense. They have multiple components that are beneficial for our health. The most important are fiber and micronutrients (vitamins and minerals).”

Variety for life

The best source of fiber and micronutrients happens to be the most naturally occurring: fruits and vegetables, which deliver so many health benefits to all aspects of our bodies and operating systems. “Eating a variety of fruits and vegetables is a great way to maintain gut health and energy in the short term and to protect us against nutrition-related chronic illness as we get older,” Fogel says.

As anyone who has visited a grocery store produce section or farmer’s market in high season will know, fruits and vegetables come in an enormous variety of sizes, flavors, textures and colors. So, how do you know what your body needs?

Fortunately, all fruits and vegetables provide dietary fiber, which is essential to maintaining digestive health and safe levels of cholesterol, blood sugar and body weight. Beyond fiber, each type of produce, from apples to zucchini, supplies its own array of vitamins, minerals and antioxidants — substances that strengthen our cells and promote health and longevity.

Conveniently, the benefits of fruits and vegetables align with their colors.

“That’s why color is so important,” Fogel explains. “Different colors affect different parts of the body and aspects of our health.”

And so, she says, the best way to maximize the benefits of these incredible, edible plants is to turn your plate into a palette of colors. The brighter the better.

Eat a rainbow

Here is the general categorization of health benefits found in the richly pigmented rainbow of fruits and vegetables.

Red – High in antioxidants and carotenoids such as lycopene and rich in vitamin C, vitamin A and potassium, that provide anti-inflammatory properties, boost immune system and may protect against certain cancers, lower risk of heart and lung disease and reduce sun-related skin damage.

Examples: strawberries, pomegranates, cranberries, tomatoes, cherries, cherries, apples, beets, watermelon, red grapes, red peppers, red onions.

Yellow/Orange – Loaded with vitamin C, vitamin A and potassium that boost the immune system and enhance vision. Also a good source of cryptothanxin, which supports a complex microbiome, digestive health and reduces the risk of heart disease and cancer.

Examples: carrots, sweet potatoes, yellow peppers, oranges, bananas, pineapple, tangerines, mango, pumpkin, apricots, winter squash, peaches, cantaloupe, corn.

Green – High in a variety of nutrients, such as vitamin K, folate, magnesium and potassium, for maintaining cardiovascular health and vision, bones and teeth. Green veggies are rich in cancer-blocking chemicals like sulforaphane, isothiocyanates and indoles. Dark green, leafy vegetables have the highest concentrations of antioxidants and fiber. Cruciferous veggies are particularly helpful in lowering the risk of cancer and heart disease.

Examples: spinach, avocados, asparagus, artichokes, broccoli, kale, cabbage, lettuce, alfalfa sprouts, Brussels sprouts, kiwi fruit, collard greens, green tea, green herbs.

Examples: blueberries, blackberries, elderberries, grapes, raisins, eggplants, plums, figs, prunes, lavender, purple cabbage.

White (and Brown) – Rich in potassium and magnesium. Support the immune system and heart health, and prevent against colon cancer and other cancers.  The onion family contains allicin, which has anti-tumor properties. Other foods in this group contain antioxidant flavonoids like quercetin and kaempferol that control cholesterol levels.

Examples: onions, cauliflower, garlic, leeks, parsnips, potatoes, daikon, mushrooms, jicama, bananas, pears.

Fresh-picked vs. flash frozen

Fogel says that raw produce — with all its color, fiber and micronutrients intact — provides the greatest level of nutritional benefits. But you don’t always need to find fresh-picked fruits and vegetables, especially when they are out of season.

“We’re in the height of fresh produce season right now,” she says. “But it’s important to remember that canned and frozen fruits and vegetables have their place — especially during the winter.”

She recommends frozen produce, which  is picked and processed at peak ripeness, so it delivers all the benefits of fresh produce.

Raw vs. cooked

Many fruits and vegetables can be eaten raw or cooked in a variety of ways. Which is better? Whichever works for you. Eating a crisp apple or a handful of snap peas out of hand can be a nutritious treat. But raw produce can make some people feel bloated or experience abdominal pain. “If you have a harder time digesting fresh fruits or vegetables, cooking is a great way to break down the fibrous structure,” Fogel says. “Plus, then you can add flavor into it, too.”

She adds that you shouldn’t worry about cooking out nutrients or fiber.

“The best way to prepare fruits and vegetables is the way that you enjoy them the most,” she says, “because that means you’re probably going to actually eat them.”

Salads, stir-fries and soups, oh my!

Speaking of which… there are innumerable ways to assemble or cook fruits and vegetables — or just eat them out of hand — to span this healthy rainbow in your diet. The key is to mix and match.

So, eating a green salad is good. But even better is eating a green salad with some orange carrots, red tomatoes, yellow peppers, white pears and blueberries. That is a nutritional powerhouse on your plate.

“If I’m eating the same-colored things all the time, whether they be fruits or vegetables, I’m probably not getting the most benefits I can out of my diet because I’m restricting myself,” Fogel says.

“It’s summer so nobody is thinking about hot broths right now, but we’ll be there soon,” she says. “Soups are a fantastic way to add in different colors and amounts of fiber. And veggies cook quickly.”

Finicky eaters?

Have a finicky kiddo —or grownup — in your house? Or maybe even the resident picky eater is you?

Fogel says that repetition is the key to introducing new fruits and vegetables into your repertoire. It can take more than 10 tries to come to appreciate a new taste. And, yes, most people’s palates do change as they mature. Tastes can be acquired.

“We tell people to try to remain open to a food even if they have tried it before and didn’t like it,” she says.

For those with a list of don’t-likes, Fogel warns against hiding fruits and vegetables in foods they do like. “It’s essentially telling them, ‘I know you don’t like this but I’m going to force you to eat it without your knowledge,’” she says. “You’re veggie gaslighting them.”

Make it welcoming

Instead, Fogel recommends making fruits and vegetables as convenient as processed snack foods or take-out. Think pre-cut apple slices and baby carrots for lunch boxes, frozen fruit for smoothies and pre-cut mixed frozen veggies for quick weeknight stir fries or soups.

“What we tell our patients is to set yourself up for success,” Fogel says.

Another bit of advice, especially for people living with picky eaters, is to model an appreciation of fruits and veggies and an openness to unfamiliar tastes and textures. It’s important for kids to see people around them enjoying a variety of healthy foods and trying new things. If you don’t like Brussels sprouts or bananas, don’t transfer this to your kids.

“Try to create a welcoming environment for all foods,” Fogel adds. “Our environment can make a huge difference in how we experience food. If everyone around us likes something we don’t think we like, we’ll probably be more open to trying it.”

Find your own bliss point

In the modern culinary world, processed convenience foods are omnipresent on store shelves and engineered to hit the “bliss point,” at which the melding of salt, sugar and fat proves difficult to resist. But they are empty calories at best.

Fruits and vegetables, on the other hand, come naturally packed with virtuous nutrients and enormous health benefits. And they can provide their own degree of bliss, once we can appreciate their natural sweetness and rich flavors.

A great way to get there is by eating your way across this agricultural rainbow every day. And the reward for doing so is greater health and wellness, now and in the future.

To Pollen’s proposition, Fogel might recommend an addendum: eat food, not too much, mostly plants, many colors.

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Genetics and genomics.

We’re learning about organisms at the molecular level and creating tools to speed up research.

Every organisms has thousands of genes, and we want to know what’s happening at the genetic level to understand the organism better.

We study the genes and genetic interactions of a wide range of organisms involved in food production – not just the plants and fish that we eat, but the insects, fungi, viruses and other organisms they might interact with in the wider ecosystem. We also want to understand how food interacts with the human body, right down to how different genes might impact on food preferences.

We use cutting edge technologies to identify, sequence and map genes, as well as understand how genes interact with each other and the wider environment. We use this knowledge to identify individuals in our plant and fish breeding programmes, as well as helping us create new technologies to detect and manage pests and diseases .

Our human genetic research helps us understand how food affects the body, and how our individual genetic make-up influences our smell, taste and food tolerances.

We’re also investigating the potential of new breeding technologies, such as gene editing, to make sure we keep all the options open for our industry partners.

Case studies

Filling the Void – boosting the nutritional value of fruit

06 Dec 2022

Rebecca Bloomer: genetic and epigenetic variation in plants

Julie Blommaert: new territories

26 Jul 2022

Andrew Allan: the potential for new breeding technologies

10 May 2022

Morphometric Software ™ for automated image analysis

26 Sep 2021

Acceptance Rate and Mating Success of Two-Day-Old Queen Cells

11 May 2020

New projects enhance collaboration

05 Mar 2024

EPA clarification clears way for new research

21 Feb 2024

More than 9 million years separate Australian and New Zealand mānuka

25 Jan 2024

Plant & Food Research epigenetic project receives Marsden grant

01 Nov 2023

New Zealand researchers lead world-first sequencing of bilberry genome

27 Apr 2022

Genomics tools for sustainable fisheries management

15 Nov 2021

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Our scientists are using gene technologies to understand plant biology.

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Acai: Everything You Need to Know

Uses of acai.

• Nutritional Value
• Side Effects

Precautions

• Preparing Acai

Interactions

Similar supplements.

• Sources & What to Look For

Acai is a plant belonging to the palm family, grown for its edible fruit and hearts of palm. They are a source of nutrition, as well as medicinal uses for managing blood sugar, cholesterol, and more.

Acai pulp and oil extracts may boost your health because they contain compounds like phenolic acids . The root and leaf extracts may offer antioxidant or anti-inflammatory properties that deliver health benefits. However, more research is needed to understand these benefits.

In the United States, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) does not regulate supplements the way it regulates prescription drugs. That means some supplement products may not contain what the label says. When choosing a supplement , look for third-party tested products and consult a healthcare provider, registered dietitian nutritionist (RD or RDN), or pharmacist.

While additional, extensive research is necessary regarding acai's efficacy, people use it to treat various health conditions.

Research is most robust for acai's effects concerning the following:

• Antioxidant effects
• Blood sugar and cholesterol effects
• Prostate cancer

Antioxidant Effects

In a small clinical trial, study participants added 200 grams (g) of acai pulp to their daily diet for four weeks. By the end of the study, the results showed that acai has antioxidant effects.

In general, antioxidants attack unstable atoms known as  free radicals . Free radicals can damage components and systems within the body, including DNA .

While results from the clinical trial are promising, this small study only included healthy individuals assigned female at birth.

More research with higher-quality, long-term large trials is still necessary.

Blood Sugar and Cholesterol Effects

In a small clinical trial, participants carrying excess weight took 100 grams of acai pulp twice daily for one month.

At the end of the study, the participants had lower fasting (before-meal) blood sugar and total cholesterol levels.

Although the results were positive, this study was small. Therefore, updated research with higher-quality, longer-term, and more extensive trials is still needed.

Prostate Cancer

In a small clinical trial, study participants with biochemically recurrent prostate cancer (those who had a rise in blood marker levels after surgery or other treatment) drank 2 ounces of a specific acai juice product twice daily for 36 weeks.

By the study's end, only one participant experienced a prostate-specific antigen (PSA) reduction that was at least 50% from baseline (measurement from the starting point of the trial). However, 71% of participants did have a lengthening of their PSA doubling time (PSADT).

PSADT is the amount of time it takes for your PSA to double. A short PSADT is typically linked with a higher risk of metastasis (spreading of cancer) and mortality (death).

While this clinical trial didn't reach its primary objective of at least a 50% PSA reduction from baseline for most participants, results did show that the acai juice product tested stabilized PSA levels.

Still, high-quality, more significant, and longer-term clinical trials are needed to understand acai's benefits.

Acai oil is a source of fatty acids.

The acai pulp also has proteins and a few B vitamins, including thiamine (B1) and pyridoxine (B6). Its minerals include boron , calcium , chromium , copper , manganese, magnesium , nickel , and potassium .

What Are the Side Effects of Acai?

As with many medications and natural products, acai can have side effects.

Common Side Effects

In an older study, no side effects were detected in a clinical trial that studied acai's effects on blood sugar and cholesterol in people with excess weight.

There were also no reported side effects in another clinical trial that studied acai's effects on PSA levels in people with biochemically recurrent prostate cancer.

Since weight loss is one of the acai's health claims, however, weight loss might be a potential side effect in those not looking to lose weight. But high-quality clinical trials in humans are necessary to determine acai's effects on weight.

Severe Side Effects

Possible serious side effects may include:

• Severe allergic reaction : A severe allergic reaction is a profound side effect possible with any medication or natural product. If you're having a severe allergic reaction , you will experience breathing difficulties, itchiness, and rash.
• Chagas disease : Drinking unprocessed acai may raise your risk of getting Chagas disease, also known as American trypanosomiasis. Chagas disease is a parasitic infection from Trypanosoma cruzi ( T. cruzi ) in certain bloodsucking insects. In addition to bites from these insects, people can get this infection by eating food that's contaminated by these insects and their feces.
• Problems with magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) results : Acai has been used as an experimental contrast agent for MRI. For this reason, acai might affect MRI results.

If you're having a severe allergic reaction or if any of your symptoms feel life-threatening, call 911 and get medical help right away.

A healthcare provider may advise against acai use if any of the following applies to you:

Severe allergic reaction : Avoid acai if you have a known allergy to it or its ingredients or components.

Pregnancy and breastfeeding : There is limited information about acai's effects and safety during pregnancy or while breastfeeding .

But some acai product labels target pregnant or breastfeeding parents. Since more data is necessary, contact a healthcare provider to discuss the benefits and risks.

Adults over age 65 : While older adults have participated in acai-based studies, additional research with more senior individuals is still necessary to assess the safety of acai in this age group.

Children : There is little information on acai's effects and safety in infants and children, but acai has been used as an alternative contrast agent in imaging tests, such as MRIs, in this age group.

While acai product labels are unlikely to target infants, some target children.

Diabetes : Acai may lower your blood sugar levels. For this reason, a healthcare provider may want to closely monitor you if you have diabetes, especially if you're taking diabetes medications like insulin .

Prostate cancer : Acai may lengthen your PSADT. Your healthcare provider may want to monitor you closely if you have prostate cancer.

Travelers : Before traveling, healthcare providers will likely recommend avoiding unprocessed acai. This prevents you from getting Chagas disease.

Dosage: How Much Acai Should I Consume?

While there are some studies on acai in humans, more research with high-quality clinical trials is still necessary.

For this reason, there are no guidelines on the appropriate dosage of acai for any condition.

In an antioxidant clinical trial, however, the amount of acai pulp was 200 grams by mouth daily for four weeks.

And in another study, participants with excess weight took 100 grams of acai pulp by mouth twice daily for 30 days to lower their blood sugar and cholesterol.

In the study testing lengthening of PSADT, the dosage was 2 ounces of a specific acai juice product taken twice daily for 36 weeks.

Dosing may vary based on the individual's dosage form and medical condition. Follow a healthcare provider's recommendations or product label instructions if you use acai.

Supplement Facts

• Active Ingredient(s) : Phenolic acids, catechin, procyanidin oligomers, hydroxycinnamic acids, and flavone derivatives
• Alternate Names(s) : Acai, açaí, assai, assaí, Euterpe oleracea , E . oleracea
• Legal Status : Legal as food and substances added to food
• Suggested Dose : Varies based on the dosage form and medical condition
• Safety Considerations : Possible side effects, interactions, and special considerations for children, pregnancy, and breastfeeding

Always speak with a healthcare provider before taking a supplement to ensure that the supplement and dosage are appropriate for your individual needs.

What Happens If I Take Too Much Acai?

There is little information about the safety, toxicity, and overdose of acai in humans. However, overdose symptoms with acai are likely similar to its potentially common and serious side effects, just excessive and more severe.

If you accidentally take too much acai or suspect you are experiencing life-threatening side effects, seek immediate medical attention.

How to Prepare Acai

Before you prepare, use, or consume acai, please ensure it is processed. Consuming unprocessed acai is linked to Chagas disease.

You may use fresh acai pulp in sweets and beverages like wine. And you may mix the juice with tapioca.

You may also buy acai in powder form, which might also be available as dried or frozen, as in smoothies or juices. The hearts of palm may be eaten.

Possible interactions are mainly based on acai's potential uses or side effects.

Cholesterol medications : Acai may affect your cholesterol levels, meaning it might interact with cholesterol medications. A study showed an interaction between acai berries and a statin drug called Lipitor (atorvastatin).

Diabetes medications : Acai may affect your blood sugar levels, causing an additive effect (increasing potency) of some diabetes medications . A study showed that acai berry interacts with Jardiance (empagliflozin) and Nesina (alogliptin).

Prostate cancer treatments : Acai may lengthen the prostate-specific antigen, affecting the impact of prostate cancer treatments .

Be sure to carefully read a supplement's ingredients list and nutrition facts panel to know which ingredients and how much of each element is included.

How to Store Acai

Unless otherwise indicated, most medicines should be stored in a cool and dry place. You should keep your medications tightly closed and out of the reach of children and pets, ideally locked in a cabinet or closet.

Discard after one year or as indicated on the packaging. Fresh acai fruit will only last one day after being picked.

Avoid putting unused and expired products down the drain or in the toilet. Visit the FDA website to learn where and how to discard all unused and expired medications.

You may also find disposal boxes in your area.

If you plan to travel with acai, become familiar with your final destination's regulations. Also, checking with the U.S. Embassy or Consulate before your trip may be helpful.

Acai has potential antioxidant, blood sugar–lowering, and cholesterol-lowering properties. Acai may also have some positive effects on prostate cancer.

Other similar supplements include:

Chromium : Chromium may improve blood sugar control in some people with diabetes. But there is conflicting evidence on this.

Flaxseed : A potential benefit of flaxseed is in lowering cholesterol, but study results are mixed.

Red yeast rice : Some  red yeast rice  Products have a substance called monacolin K that may lower cholesterol. Other red yeast rice products have very little monacolin K, but it's hard to determine how much.

It also has not been determined if cholesterol is reduced with red yeast rice products with little monacolin K. For these reasons, it's difficult to know whether red yeast rice lowers cholesterol.

Vitamins C or E : Vitamins C and E are examples of antioxidants. But in the Women's Antioxidant Cardiovascular Study, neither of these vitamins had beneficial effects on heart-related events, such as cardiac arrest or stroke.

Moreover, neither of these antioxidants decreased the likelihood of diabetes (high blood sugar) or cancer. Based on the Selenium and Vitamin E Cancer Prevention Trial (SELECT) results, vitamin E with selenium didn't prevent prostate cancer.

However, vitamins C and E with lutein and zeaxanthin antioxidants may decrease the risk of worsening age-related macular degeneration (AMD).

In AMD, blood leaks into the macula , which is the center of the retina in the back of the eye. The macula helps you see fine details and objects in your central field of vision. AMD can become vision-threatening.

Checking with a healthcare provider can help you to avoid possible harmful interactions and side effects and ensure you're taking appropriate doses.

Sources of Acai & What to Look For

There are several different sources of acai, but health nutrition guidelines typically place more importance on food sources to improve the diet.

Although food sources are preferable, there is still a place for supplements for people with nutrient absorption problems. This may happen to people in certain age groups or with certain medical conditions.

Food Sources of Acai

Acai is naturally available as a plant from the palm family grown for its edible fruit and hearts of palm.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) generally categorizes acai or E. oleracea as food. The FDA also placed acai on its list of approved substances added to food.

You may add fresh acai pulp to sweets and beverages like wine. And you may mix the juice with tapioca.

It is also available in powder form and dried or frozen for smoothies or juices. The hearts of palm can be eaten.

Acai Supplements

Acai supplements are likely commonly available in capsule and powder forms.

Other acai supplement forms are:

• Chewables or gummies

Some of these other forms may come with additional ingredients. Vegetarian and vegan options should be available.

Acai is a plant from the palm family. Acai has potential antioxidant, blood sugar–lowering, and cholesterol-lowering effects. Acai may also have some benefits for prostate cancer.

Since additional research is needed, you will need to make sure the diagnosis and treatment of your medical conditions are completed on time.

Before using acai, consult with a dietitian, pharmacist, or healthcare provider regarding the safety and efficacy of acai.

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By Ross Phan, PharmD, BCACP, BCGP, BCPS Ross is a writer for Verywell and has years of experience practicing pharmacy in various settings. She is also a board-certified clinical pharmacist, the founder of Off Script Consults, and director of the PharmacyChecker international verification program.