Correlates of the willingness to consume insects: a meta-analysis

B. Wassmann; M. Siegrist; C. Hartmann

Correlates of the willingness to consume insects: a meta-analysis

In: Advancement of insects as food and feed in a circular economy

Authors:

B. Wassmann

B. Wassmann Department of Health Sciences and Technology, ETH Zürich Universitaetstrasse 22, 8092 Zurich Switzerland

Search for other papers by B. Wassmann in
Current site
Google Scholar
PubMed

M. Siegrist

M. Siegrist Department of Health Sciences and Technology, ETH Zürich Universitaetstrasse 22, 8092 Zurich Switzerland

Search for other papers by M. Siegrist in
Current site
Google Scholar
PubMed

, and

C. Hartmann

C. Hartmann Department of Health Sciences and Technology, ETH Zürich Universitaetstrasse 22, 8092 Zurich Switzerland

Search for other papers by C. Hartmann in
Current site
Google Scholar
PubMed

Type:: Chapter

Pages:: 705–729

DOI:: https://doi.org/10.1163/9789004707689_29

Purchase instant access (PDF download and unlimited online access):

€42.00€35.00 excl. VAT

Add to Cart

Redeem Access Token

Abstract

Although insects are a sustainable meat alternative, the willingness to consume (WTC) them remains generally low. We synthesised the effects of WTC correlates reported in 37 studies and also investigated the moderating effects of certain study characteristics. Across a large number of studies, affect-based factors, such as ‘food neophobia’, ‘disgust’ and ‘the expected unpleasant taste of insects’, were consistently strongly correlated with WTC (r¯ = -0.33-0.55). Information-based factors, such as ‘the perceived sustainability of insects as food’ and ‘the perceived nutritiousness of insects as food’, also impacted WTC (r¯ = 0.32-0.55). However, the number of contributing studies in this regard was low. Curiosity appears to be relevant to WTC because ‘food sensation and innovation seeking’ (r¯ = 0.29) positively impacted WTC. ‘Age, education and gender’ were relatively unrelated to WTC (r¯ = -0.14-0.00) across a large number of studies. Combatting affective barriers through gradual and/or early exposure – i.e. increasing the ‘familiarity with the concept of eating insects’ (r¯ = 0.10) and allowing consumers’ experiences with ‘insect consumption’ (r¯ = 0.35) to develop over time – will help foster entomophagy acceptance in the long run. In comparison, information-based interventions may have limited effectivity, but they can be implemented in the short term. As meta-regressions have shown, future researchers must consider whether the presentation of the edible insects has moderating effects, e.g. presenting specific as compared to non-specific products (β = -0.47) or actual products (β = -0.56) and pictures of such products (β = -0.55) as compared to mere verbal descriptions. Classical psychological entomophagy factors have been explored comprehensively, and research should also adopt a more market-oriented focus.

Citation Info

Save
Cite
Email this content

Share link with colleague or librarian

You can email a link to this page to a colleague or librarian:
Email this content
or copy the link directly:

https://brill.edhh.ma/abstract/book/9789004707689/BP000033.xml
The link was not copied. Your current browser may not support copying via this button.

Link copied successfully

Collapse
Expand

Advancement of insects as food and feed in a circular economy

Series: Series of Insects as Food and Feed

E-Book ISBN:: 9789004707689

Publisher:: Wageningen Academic

Print Publication Date:: 15 Nov 2024

Subjects
- Life Sciences
  - General

Front Matter

ProCite

RefWorks

Reference Manager

BibTeX

Zotero

EndNote

Metrics

	All Time	Past 365 days	Past 30 Days
Abstract Views	246	127	41
Full Text Views	11	5	0
PDF Views & Downloads	6	0	0

African Studies	Education	Media Studies
American Studies	History	Middle East and Islamic Studies
Ancient Near East and Egypt	Human Rights and Humanitarian Law	Musicology
Art History	International Law	Philosophy
Asian Studies	International Relations	Religious Studies
Biblical Studies	Jewish Studies	Slavic and Eurasian Studies
Biology	Languages and Linguistics	Social Sciences
Book History and Cartography	Life Sciences	Theology and World Christianity
Classical Studies	Literature and Cultural Studies

Subjects

Authors

Open Access

Product Information

Company

Contact

Correlates of the willingness to consume insects: a meta-analysis

Abstract

Citation Info

Share link with colleague or librarian

Advancement of insects as food and feed in a circular economy

Table of Contents

References

Metrics

Metrics