From mostly vegetarian to fully vegetarian: Meat avoidance and the expression of social identity

The dichotomous divide between vegetarians and omnivores seems clear: Omnivores eat meat, whereas vegetarians do not. Yet classifying people dichotomously as vegetarian or omnivorous overlooks a distinct group of people who limit their meat intake but still include some meat in their diets: a group of “mostly vegetarian” dieters called flexitarians (a term combining the words, “flexible” and “vegetarian”). Despite the estimated prevalence of flexitarianism in the United States hovering at approximately 20% to 30% of the population, we have little knowledge about how flexitarians construe their food choices. Through a preregistered study (N = 718), we identified psychological differences between flexitarians and full vegetarians as well as predictors of flexitarians’ openness to going fully vegetarian. Across all tests, social identity aspects of meat avoidance emerged as significant factors, over and above what motivations participants reported for avoiding meat. Findings suggest that social identity phenomena offer insights into how meat-avoiders construe not only their current, but also their prospective, food choices.     

Enhancing assessment of social representations by comparing groups with different cultural and demographic characteristics: A case study on pulses

Culture plays an important role in the construction of social representations about food, influencing choices such as when, where, with whom, and how much to eat. Even within Europe, differences in the consumption of pulses may be observed between neighboring countries, such as France and Spain. Moreover, literature suggests different attitudes towards pulses according to the level of education. The first aim of this study was to carry out an exploratory comparison of the social representations of pulses for French and Spanish consumers, in relation to their level of education. Another goal was to improve social representation assessment through a free word association task focusing on pulses. Methodological improvements to the structural approach were therefore proposed, combining order of citation with frequency and importance, with adapted cut-off points. The polarity index was modified, and the impact of analyzing words (raw data) or word categories was assessed. The main results from the study highlighted that, for both words and categories, there is a common core in the social representations of pulses of the two groups of participants compared, related to five dimensions: health, pulses, nutrition, preparation, and sensory aspects. The study also identified a difference in focus between the two countries: French consumers focused on other foods; Spanish consumers focused on appropriateness and context. Overall, in both France and Spain, participants had a positive attitude towards pulses. The methodological changes proposed in the present study facilitate the comparison of results across different groups of participants. This research project provides valuable insights for researchers and policymakers seeking to understand the impact of culture on consumer food choices.     

Perception of traditional food products in six European regions using free word association

A total of 721 consumers were interviewed in order to obtain and compare consumer-driven associations to the word “Traditional”, in a food context, in six European regions. Participants, who were individually interviewed, had to state the first words that came into their mind when the word “Traditional” was verbally presented. Frequencies of occurrence of associations were obtained and analysed by means of simple correspondence analysis. The different word associations obtained were classified in 55 classes and then grouped in ten principal dimensions by triangulation. In general, southern European regions tended to associate the concept of “Traditional” more frequently with broad concepts such as heritage, culture or history. Central and Nordic European regions tended to focus mainly on practical issues such as convenience, health or appropriateness. As a final outcome of the analyses, a consensus conceptual map of traditional food products was obtained. The empirical findings of this qualitative exploratory free word association test provide valuable insights for product positioning, innovation and new developments in the traditional food market.     

Derived attributes as mediators between categorization and acceptance of a new functional drink

Previous research has given inconsistent results about how categorization influences hedonic ratings. This study used social representation theory to explore the role of categorization, derived attributes, and degree of liking in predicting acceptance, measured as post-exposure liking and preferred frequency to use a new functional drink. Two categories, “technological” and “natural”, were offered as verbal–visual information, characterizing opposite themata of social representation of new foods, in a between-subjects design with 62 women. The women were assigned into two groups, respectively. Liking and preferred frequency to use were rated at two experimental sessions and during a 6-day home use period between them, and 18 derived attributes were rated at the final session. Derived attributes were categorized into four subgroups using principal component analysis. Derived attributes of artificial and regular were predicted by technological or natural category information, respectively, while beneficial and unnecessary were not. The four derived attributes and liking ratings predicted up to 81% of post-exposure liking. The derived attributes predicted up to 11–32% of preferred frequency to use; however, when added to the model, liking ratings replaced their significance, predicting up to 67% of preferred frequency to use. As the groups objectified the product differently depending on the category, it is concluded that the derived attributes had a mediating role between categorization and product acceptance.     

Correlation of microbial response in model food systems with physico-chemical and “mobility” descriptors of the media

The role played by water activity (a_w), “mobility” (“molecular” by Nuclear Magnetic Resonance (NMR) analysis and “macromolecular”, by glassy to rubbery transition, thermal analysis) and physico-chemical properties of the media in modulating microbial response have been studied in multicomponent model food systems of different physical state. NMR “molecular” mobility correlated well with microbial (mold spore) response in solid and semisolid systems (dry and intermediate moisture foods) while in high moisture, liquid, homogeneous systems water activity was found to correlate better with Staphylococcus aureus activity. Correlation between microbial survival ability and glassy to rubbery transition in heterogeneous and complex model systems is not yet conclusive.Industrial relevanceFood technologists, in order to assure safety and stability of food products, should understand the relevant factors in microbial activity. Water availability is a fundamental principle in food preservation and it might be related to water mobility. Mold spoilage, has been shown to be closely related to water mobility (in this case, measured by NMR). However, in some systems, when humectants are used, water activity is an important empirical parameter in food preservation involving intermediate moisture foods. In this work, the role played by “mobility” (“molecular” by NMR analysis and “macromolecular”, by glassy to rubbery transition, thermal analysis) was analyzed in food model systems and an important role of “water mobility” was suggested.     

Effects of the degree of processing of insect ingredients in snacks on expected emotional experiences and willingness to eat

This study explored willingness to eat and the negative and positive emotional expectations that people from a Western country may have toward the consumption of insect snacks. The snacks, which were presented as pictures in an online survey, differed in their degree of processing of the insect ingredient: tortilla chips made of cricket flour (“flour”), tortilla chips containing deep-fried cricket bits (“bits”), a snack consisting of tortilla chips and deep-fried crickets (“mix”), and deep-fried crickets (“crickets”). Swiss respondents (N = 428) made 39 emotional evaluations, rated willingness to eat and expected liking of the presented products. Each participant evaluated the same non-insect-containing snack (within-subjects design) and one of four insect-containing snacks (between-subjects design). Results showed that the insect snacks evoked various negative emotional expectations that went beyond expectations of disgust. Positive emotional expectations were less expected to occur. Furthermore, expectations related to disgust/uneasiness, inertia/dissatisfaction, and positive emotional evaluations were significant predictors of willingness to eat. The degree of processing of the insect ingredient partly influenced the ratings, with the “mix” product being assessed more negatively than the “flour” or “bits” products. The “cricket” product was rated more positive than expected.The research indicates that in the development and marketing of insect food, efforts should be undertaken not only to eliminate initial negative expectations of disgust and dissatisfaction but also to generate positive emotional expectations. We suggest the marketing of snacks containing processed insect ingredients will be more promising, and selling whole insects alone is more preferable to selling a mixed snack. Regardless of the degree of processing of the insect ingredient, the results suggest that marketing activities must contend with a large emotional barrier.     

Resistance and Submission,Warp and Weft: Unraveling the Life of Ethel Mairet

Abstract

This paper attempts to unravel some of the knots of handweaver Ethel Mairet's biography, and to embrace the paradoxes, political vagaries, and textures of her life. At once appropriator and colonizer, Indian nationalist and Sri Lankan scholar, twice married, twice divorced, feminist, submissive wife, communist sympathizer, businesswoman and feminized weaver, Ethel Mairet complicated virtually every trope of “feminine,” “craft,” and “colonial”—both within her life, and in attempts to write her into history. This paper examines Mairet's complicated relationships to these categories, and her negotiation of the roles prescribed for her through, in the appropriate words of artist and art historian Mireille Perron: “resistance and submission, warp and weft.”     

The impact of sugar-related claims on perceived healthfulness,caloric value and expected taste of food products

Food packaging usually includes multiple cues, including claims about nutrients that may modulate how the consumer perceives (and behaves towards) the product. In the current work, we systematically examined how different types of claims about sugar influenced the perception of food product categories (i.e., yogurts, ice creams, cookies, and breakfast cereals). In two experiments (combined n = 406), participants were asked to evaluate the perceived healthfulness, caloric value, and expected taste of products with (vs. without) sugar-related claims. Specifically, the claims were on the sugar content (“0% sugar”, “sugar-free”, “no added sugars”, “low sugar” - Experiment 1) or on the type of sugars or sweeteners of natural origin (“sucrose”, “cane sugar”, “honey” and “stevia” - Experiment 2).Experiment 1 revealed that all products with sugar-related claims were rated as healthier, less caloric, and less tasty than the regular alternatives. Still, products with the “low sugar” claim were perceived as the least healthy, most caloric, and tastiest. In Experiment 2, we observed that products with “stevia” claim were rated as healthier, less caloric, and less tasty than regular products. In both experiments, the frequency of consumption of products with sugar-related claims was positively associated with the general perception of these products, the influence of nutritional information on consumption decisions, attention to sugar intake, and interest in nutrition.Overall, our results show that sugar-related claims may influence consumer's perceptions about food products, but the direction of that influence depends on the type of claim and evaluative dimension.     

What factors affect consumers’ dining sentiments and their ratings: Evidence from restaurant online review data

Online review data refers to customer opinions (e.g., text reviews, numerical ratings, and personal information) left on online retailing and review platforms. Here, we provide insight for food-related consumer sentiment study by using online review data. We present a case study using Yelp restaurant review data on what affects restaurant customers’ sentiment responses to dining out. In our case study, a sentiment-analysis method was used to extract and generate sentiment indices from 175,879 text-based Yelp restaurant reviews. We examined the relationships between our sentiment indices and ratings and showed that online review data can provide information about consumer dining sentiments. By using semi-automatic content analysis method, we first counted the most frequent 300 words in all text reviews and manually categorized those most frequent words into five topics: “food,” “service,” “expenditure,” “social,” and “miscellany”. We then computed the fraction of topic words in each category over the total topic words for each review. We found that (1) consumers used more positive sentiment words than negative sentiment words in their Yelp restaurant text reviews. (2) The proportion of positive sentiment words in reviews was positively related to ratings; the proportion of negative sentiment words in reviews was negatively related to ratings. (3) Relative to food, consumers used more sentiment words (both positive and negative) when they were discussing restaurant service. (4) Consumers used the least sentiment words when they were discussing social-related topics compared with the other topics (food, service and expenditure). (5) Consumers rated restaurant service higher than they rated food.     

DNA barcoding reveals fraudulent substitutions in shark seafood products: The Italian case of “palombo” (Mustelus spp.)

In food safety and traceability, consumers are more and more demanding about composition and provenance of processed seafood products. In the trade of many species, manufacturing alterations usually bring to the loss of any morphological diagnostic features of the species, enhancing the possibility of fraudulent substitutions and incorrect product labeling. In this study, we used a DNA barcoding approach to identify species substitutions cases in shark slices sold in Italy under the vernacular name of “palombo” (that is referred to the triakiids Mustelus mustelus and Mustelus asterias for the Italian regulation). We produced the coxI barcode sequence (550 bp long) for all the analysed specimens, and we compared them with reference sequences from different databases (GenBank and BOLD), using two bioinformatic identification methods, one of them developed in our laboratory. Results showed a high amount of commercial frauds rising the 80% of analysed “palombo” slices and highlighting a relevant economical impact for consumers.     

Digital Clothes: Active,Dynamic, and Virtual Textiles and Garments

Abstract

This article will examine the probable and possible pitfalls offered to consumers and designers by the potential of textiles and garments that are responsive, active, interactive, and aware, using technologies inherited from other craft fields such as medical sensing and information technology.

These developments present obvious, and much discussed, opportunities for the design of functional garments for applications in dangerous industries, sports, rescue, and the military. However, the effect on the already complex dynamic between garment and everyday wear has not been so well examined. Using the social effects of the uptake of other now ubiquitous technology devices such as mobile phones and the Internet as a model for social impact, this article will take a look into the possible near future to see both what is possible, but also what can go wrong with active garment fashion.

This examination of the “digital” in garment manufacture moves well beyond the current, often rather clumsy incorporation of wires, sensors, and novelty “glow in the dark” fiber optics into conventional clothes. Rather, it examines the maturing of a field in which revolutionary display technologies and bio-feedback sensing are merging with textiles to produce totally natural feeling and looking fabrics that can not only change their overall color, but can display complex patterns, as well as respond to stimuli from wearer and environment. Aspects such as the effects on personal health, social conventions, and economic costs will be considered.

The article will also consider the domain of clothing and fashion for people who inhabit “virtual” environments, interacting with other people in real time. Unlike more familiar computer games, these online environments involve extensive, long-term social interaction between participants. Unfortunately, the choice of “costume” for the visual representation of each player, currently very limited, has become a frustration for individuals, and threatens to limit the social agency and growth of these environments. The problems of designing and implementing credible and engaging fashions for virtual reality are therefore also examined.     

From Modernity to Postmodernity: As Revealed in the Titles of New Zealand Recipe Books

The evolving vocabulary used in the titles of New Zealand recipe books neatly encapsulates twentieth-century culinary history. The disappearance of some words and arrival of others correlate with changes in eating and wider social and cultural developments. In particular, a dramatic shift in the language in the early 1960s reflects a culinary revolution. Such words as “modern” and “science,” used in earlier titles, suggest the rational kitchens of mass food distribution. Such signifiers then give way to those of postmodern or consumer society. With the increasingly globalized and individualized food supply, attention turns from exclusively the cooks’ toward the eaters’ interests. On the one hand, such words as “diner,” “wine,” and “cuisine” show a new fascination with dinner parties. On the other, the “housewife” cooking for a “household” is replaced by a “mother” looking after her “family.” Where early titles advertise “tested” and “everyday” recipes, many later boast “easy” recipes for “treats,” raising issues about the informalisation of meals and deskilling of cooking. A trend toward a rewards mentality might encourage obesity, but reflects commercial food advertising.     

Social identification,social representations,and consumer innovativeness in an organic food context: A cross-national comparison

The aim of this study was to compare the role of (1) demographic characteristics, (2) domain-specific innovativeness, (3) social representation of new foods, and (4) social identification on the adoption of new organic food products. Three studies in the United States (N = 1001), the United Kingdom (N = 1010), and Germany (N = 961) show that social identification is an important predictor of organic food consumption aside from domain-specific innovativeness. The influence of social representation components differs between countries, and demographics are less important predictors of organic food consumption behaviour. This study shows that the relationship between an individual and his/her social environment as explained by social identification is at least as important as domain-specific innovativeness in predicting new product adoption. In addition, comparing the predictive ability of these constructs in a cross-national context brings added value to current knowledge on the adoption of new foods. Implications and directions for future research are described.     

Food neophobia among the Finns and related responses to familiar and unfamiliar foods

A representative sample of the Finns (n=1083) rated the familiarity of 20 foods designated to be “familiar” or “unfamiliar” and willingness to try them. Subjects also filled in a 10-item questionnaire measuring their individual food neophobia. Food neophobia scores decreased with increasing education and with the degree of urbanization. Men were more neophobic than women, and the elderly (66–80 years) were more neophobic than the other age groups. Subjects with high food neophobia were less likely to have tasted or eaten the rated foods than were those with low food neophobia. Food neophobia significantly predicted the willingness to try “unfamiliar”, and also some “familiar” foods. In factor analysis, the items of the food neophobia scale loaded on two factors but the variance was mainly explained by the first factor related to the interest in new foods. The second factor may reflect a general concern about trying unknown foods. Overall, the translated food neophobia scale appeared to be a valid instrument for the characterization of consumer responses to unfamiliar foods.     

Environmental impact judgments of meat,vegetarian, and insect burgers: Unifying the negative footprint illusion and quantity insensitivity

Climate-related risks for natural and human systems increase with global warming. Meat production contributes considerably to global greenhouse gas emissions. Changes in consumption patterns can help reduce this impact – e.g., by replacing meat with plant or insect-based alternatives. For this to happen, it is important to understand how such products are perceived in terms of their environmental impact. Two cognitive biases – the negative footprint illusion and quantity insensitivity – have been shown to affect this perception. The present study (N = 501; M_Age = 47.8, SD = 16.8; 48.9% female) tries to replicate both biases in the context of meat, vegetarian, and insect burgers. In an online experiment, participants viewed pictures of a variety of meals and rated their environmental impact on a “carbon footprint scale” (between-subject design). We found that footprint ratings of a prototypic fast food meal consisting of fries, water, and either a vegetarian or an insect burger did not significantly differ from the ratings given to the meal without the burger (“negative footprint illusion”), while the addition of a meat burger increased the rating. Furthermore, we found that participants’ judgments were insensitive to the quantity of the presented burgers, and they reacted only to the type of the burger patty (“quantity insensitivity”). We did not find that “green consumer values” – the tendency to express the value of environmental conservation through one’s purchase and consumption behavior – influenced the estimation. Throughout all conditions, beef burgers consistently received higher footprint ratings than vegetarian and insect burgers. While we could not strictly replicate the original results, we conclude that our findings are still consistent with previous studies and can enrich the understanding of the underlying cognitive processes causing them. Specifically, we propose that both biases can be attributed to the same general-purpose heuristic of intuitive judgment – namely, “attribute substitution”, and the “prototype heuristic” in particular.     

Unconscious emotional processing

In their opinion paper, Thomson and Coates mention that their title: “Are unconscious emotions important in product assessment? How can we access them?”, “presents several immediate challenges”. We agree, and we suggest that an interesting challenge already starts with the definition of what an unconscious emotion is. In particular, one may ask: what is unconscious in a so-called “unconscious emotion”? In this commentary, we first discuss the very construct of “unconscious emotion.” Then, we discuss this construct with respect to componential approaches to emotion, and we argue that the construct of “unconscious emotion” is subject to debate because the feeling component is typically considered as constitutive of an emotion. We conclude that it may be particularly useful for future research not to focus on “unconscious emotions” but rather on specific “unconscious emotional processes”, and how to measure them using a hypothesis-driven approach.     

“As long as it is not irradiated” – Influencing factors of US consumers’ acceptance of food irradiation

Innovative microbial decontamination strategies, such as food irradiation or treatment of foods with protective cultures, offer solutions for today’s food industry to produce safe food with appropriate shelf-life and quality. However, consumers frequently exhibit strong aversions towards highly processed foods and unfamiliar and artificially-sounding food technologies. This paper aimed at examining consumers’ quality perceptions of foods treated with different decontamination strategies and linking these findings to the theoretical assumptions of the affect heuristic in two online studies with US consumers (study 1: N = 184, study 2: N = 65). The main finding from study 1 was that the label “treated with food irradiation” had a detrimental effect on consumers’ quality perception of different foods, while “treated with food ionization” did to a lesser degree, despite being another term for the identical decontamination strategy. The suggestion that this detrimental effect origins in negative affect and associations raised by the term “food irradiation,” was substantiated in study 2. Consumers, who have negative feelings towards nuclear power, perceive irradiated foods as lower in quality, perceived less benefits and more risks associated with food irradiation and exhibit lower overall acceptance of this technology. The findings of the two studies are discussed in light of recommendations for the food industry and regulation. This study stresses the importance of consulting with social science ahead of the implementation of a new food technology.