(P02-015-23) Meat Consumption Behaviors Among Meatless Monday Newsletter Subscribers

Objectives: The weekly Meatless Monday (MM) newsletter is intended to provide subscribers with plant-based tips, news, recipes and resources to help them succeed in meatless practices. We conducted a survey of newsletter subscribers to assess whether receiving the newsletter had influenced subscribers to reduce meat or make other dietary changes beyond MM and what influenced these behaviors. This analysis aims to assess future intentions of reducing meat among frequent meat eaters who receive the MM newsletter.

Methods: A cross-sectional survey was conducted among 1,172 Meatless Monday Newsletter subscribers in 2021. For this analysis, 95% confidence intervals were calculated for proportions.

Results: Of the subscribers that voluntarily reported their demographic information 63.0% were aged >55y, 89.6% were female, 82.7% were White/Caucasian, and 58.3% were married. Among all subscribers that completed the survey, 48.7% were frequent meat eaters (defined as consuming meat from 3-7 times a week), and 51.1% consumed meat less frequently, with 22.7% reporting no meat consumption. Among frequent meat-eaters, 73.6% (95% CI 69.7%, 77.1%) reported that they intend to reduce meat consumption in the future while 5.1% (3.4%, 7.2%) reported no intention to reduce meat at all. Nearly half of frequent meat eaters intend to reduce meat consumption by at least 1 day a week 45.2% (41.0%, 49.4%) and 19.4% (16.3%, 22.9%) of frequent meat eaters intend to reduce meat consumption by just once a week.

Among frequent meat eaters, 94.0% (91.8%, 95.8%) indicated they would like to see more meatless recipes from Meatless Monday to support meatless practices, and 48.9% (44.7%, 53.1%) said they would like to see more scientific articles about the health benefits of plant-based eating.

Conclusions: The results showed that many subscribers with frequent meat consumption intend to reduce meat consumption in the future, suggesting that the MM newsletter may have a favorable role in the choice to reduce meat consumption. Findings indicate that recipes and articles about the potential health benefits of plant-based eating could be a way to enhance the effectiveness of the newsletter toward the goals of MM.

Funding Sources: George Graham Professorship Endowment
Santa Barbara Foundation