Minding some animals but not others: Strategic attributions of mental capacities and moral worth to animals used for food in pescatarians, vegetarians, and omnivores

Ioannidou, Maria; Francis, Kathryn B.; Stewart-Knox, Barbara; Lesk, Valerie

Abstract

While moral concern for animals has become increasingly important for both consumer food choice and food policy makers, previous research demonstrated that meat eaters attribute lower moral status and mental capacities to animals raised for meat compared to non-food animals. The current research investigated whether this strategic flexibility in moral concern and mind perceptions also occurs when considering aquatic food animals and animals used for dairy and egg products, and the degree to which these concerns and perceptions are evident in pescatarians and vegetarians. We compared perceptions (mind attributions and moral concern) of land food animals versus aquatic food animals, and of animals in the meat versus dairy and egg industry between omnivores (n = 122), pescatarians (n = 118), vegetarians (n = 138), vegans (n = 120), and flexitarians (n = 60). Pescatarians scored lower than other dietary groups on moral concern and mind attribution for aquatic animals relative to farmed land animals. Unlike the other dietary groups, pescatarians and vegetarians scored lower on moral concern and mind attribution for dairy than beef cows and for layer chickens than broiler chickens. These findings demonstrate that pescatarians and vegetarians were flexible in their moral thinking about different types of food animals in ways that suited their consumption habits, even when the same animal was evaluated (e.g., dairy vs beef cows). This research highlights the psychological barriers that might prevent people from reducing animal product consumption and may need to be addressed in interventions to encourage transitioning towards more plant-based diets.

Citation

Ioannidou, M., Francis, K. B., Stewart-Knox, B., & Lesk, V. (2024). Minding some animals but not others: Strategic attributions of mental capacities and moral worth to animals used for food in pescatarians, vegetarians, and omnivores. Appetite, 200, Article 107559. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.appet.2024.107559

• Journal Article Type: Article
• Acceptance Date: Jun 13, 2024
• Online Publication Date: Jun 14, 2024
• Publication Date: Sep 1, 2024
• Deposit Date: Jun 25, 2024
• Publicly Available Date: Jun 26, 2024
• Journal: Appetite
• Print ISSN: 0195-6663
• Electronic ISSN: 1095-8304
• Publisher: Elsevier
• Peer Reviewed: Peer Reviewed
• Volume: 200
• Article Number: 107559
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.appet.2024.107559
• Keywords: Speciesism, Dietary groups, Mind attribution, Moral concern, Survey, Animal product consumption, Food choice
• Public URL: https://keele-repository.worktribe.com/output/857532
• Additional Information: This article is maintained by: Elsevier; Article Title: Minding some animals but not others: Strategic attributions of mental capacities and moral worth to animals used for food in pescatarians, vegetarians, and omnivores; Journal Title: Appetite; CrossRef DOI link to publisher maintained version: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.appet.2024.107559; Content Type: article; Copyright: © 2024 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd.