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CONSIDERABLE EVIDENCE INDICATES THAT CONSUMERS ARE AMBIVALENT ABOUT ACCEPTING CELL-CULTURED MEATS THAT PROMISE TO SOLVE MANY OF THE LIVESTOCK-RELATED ENVIRONMENTAL, HEALTH, AND ETHICAL CHALLENGES IN MEAT PRODUCTION. IT IS THEREFORE LIKELY TO BE CONSUMER BEHAVIORS TOWARDS THIS NOVEL PROTEIN SOURCE THAT WILL DETERMINE MARKET VIABILITY AND GROWTH. THE GOAL OF THIS PROPOSAL IS TO IDENTIFY CONSIDERATION FACTORS INFLUENCING CONSUMER PERCEPTIONS AND ATTITUDES TOWARDS CCM ACROSS VARIOUS DIMENSIONS, INCLUDING ETHICAL, LEGAL, ENVIRONMENTAL, HEALTH, CULTURAL, AND SOCIAL. THERE ARE TWO SPECIFIC OBJECTIVES. SPECIFIC OBJECTIVE #1 IS TO DETERMINE THE BASIS FOR CONSUMER PERCEPTIONS AND PREFERENCES TOWARDS CCM. OUR APPROACH INVOLVES FOCUS GROUPS AND A NATIONALLY REPRESENTATIVE SURVEY TO UNDERSTAND US CONSUMERS' PERCEPTIONS AND PREFERENCES FOR CCM, AS WELL AS IMPORTANT CONSIDERATION FACTORS THAT CAN SHAPE CCM ATTITUDES. SPECIFIC OBJECTIVE #2 IS TO DETERMINE THE EFFECTS OF INFORMATION MESSAGING, RELATED TO CONSIDERATION FACTORS ABOUT CCM, ON CONSUMER PERCEPTIONS AND ATTITUDES. OUR APPROACH WILL INVOLVE UTILIZING INFORMATION MESSAGING, HIGHLIGHTING BENEFITS OF CCM ACROSS DIFFERENT DIMENSIONS, IN NEUROMARKETING APPLICATIONS TO PROMOTE HIGHER PREFERENCES FOR CULTURED MEAT COMPARED TO CONVENTIONAL ALTERNATIVES. THE RATIONALE FOR THE PROPOSED STUDIES IS THAT ONCE THE IMPACT OF NUDGES IS IDENTIFIED IN THE CONTEXT OF CELL-CULTURED MEAT PRODUCTS, THESE NUDGES CAN BE LEVERAGED TO HELP ADDRESS PRESSING CHALLENGES IN THE CURRENT FOOD SYSTEM. THESE INFORMATIONAL NUDGES HELP CONSUMERS GAIN A BETTER UNDERSTANDING OF CCM, ADDRESSING MISCONCEPTIONS TO FOSTER ACCEPTANCE. THIS WILL ENABLE USE TO REACH OUR LONG-TERM GOAL OF ACCELERATING THE DEVELOPMENT OF SCIENCE-BASED MARKET COMMUNICATION STRATEGIES FOR INCREASING CONSUMER ADOPTION OF CCM.THE OVERALL OBJECTIVE FOR THIS APPLICATION IS TO IDENTIFY CONSIDERATION FACTORS INFLUENCING CONSUMER PERCEPTIONS, ATTITUDES, AND BEHAVIORAL INTENTION TOWARD CELL-CULTURED MEAT ACROSS VARIOUS DIMENSIONS, INCLUDING ETHICAL, LEGAL, ENVIRONMENTAL, HEALTH, CULTURAL, AND SOCIAL. ADDITIONALLY, WE WILL DEVELOP INFORMATIONAL NUDGES, ADDRESSING EACH OF THE DIFFERENT CONSIDERATION FACTORS, AND EMPLOYING NEUROMARKETING TECHNIQUES (RELYING ON BRAIN RESPONSE ACTIVITY) TO EVALUATE THE EFFECTIVENESS OF THE NUDGES IN STIMULATING GREATER ACCEPTANCE OF CULTURED MEAT ALTERNATIVES. THE CENTRAL HYPOTHESIS FOR THE PROPOSED RESEARCH IS THAT INFORMING U.S. CONSUMERS ABOUT BENEFITS ASSOCIATED WITH CONSIDERATION FACTORS RELATED TO CELL-CULTURED MEATS WILL AMELIORATE BARRIERS TO ADOPTING THIS TECHNOLOGY BY INCREASING THE CONSUMER KNOWLEDGE DURING PURCHASING DECISIONS FOR THE CCM MEAT PRODUCTS. THIS HYPOTHESIS WAS FORMULATED BASED ON STRONG PRELIMINARY FINDINGS OF SMALL-SCALE FOCUS GROUPS USING CONVENIENCE SAMPLING METHODS. THE FOCUS GROUPS' RESULTS INDICATE THAT CONSUMERS HAVE AN ELEVATED LEVEL OF MISTRUST, APPREHENSION, OR NEGATIVE PRECONCEIVED NOTIONS RELATED TO THE,NOVEL CONCEPT OF FOOD BIOTECHNOLOGY FOR CCM, WHILE INSTINCTS LED CONSUMERS TO CHOOSE CONVENTIONALLY PRODUCED MEAT PRODUCTS FROM LIVESTOCK OPERATIONS AS A MORE COMFORTABLE ALTERNATIVE. OUR DIVERSE TEAM OF INVESTIGATORS IS ESPECIALLY WELL-PREPARED TO CONDUCT THE PROPOSED WORK AS IT CONSISTS OF SOCIAL SCIENCE RESEARCH SCIENTISTS, A NEURO-ECONOMIST, BEHAVIORAL ECONOMISTS, AND FOOD SUPPLY CHAINS EXPERTS WITH A LONG-STANDING COLLABORATIVE HISTORY AS SHOWN BY A TRACK RECORD OF PEER-REVIEWED PUBLICATIONS. ADDITIONALLY, OUR RESEARCH ENVIRONMENT IS ESPECIALLY CONDUCIVE FOR THE SUCCESSFUL COMPLETION OF THE WORK AS WE HAVE ACCESS TO THE NECESSARY FOOD SENSORY LABORATORIES, LOCAL TEST-MARKET POPULATION FOR NEW FOOD PRODUCTS, AND MULTIDISCIPLINARY CLINICAL RESEARCH SUITES.
$647.3k 6/28/24