In a survey of more than 1,200 US adults, Purdue University found that consumers largely preferred beef from cattle over alternatives for taste, appearance, freshness, price, convenience, and several other factors.
A majority of consumers (71%) said beef from cattle is much or somewhat better in taste, while only 17% said that beef and beef alternatives tasted about the same, and 12% said the alternatives were better. Similarly, 57% of consumers said beef is much or somewhat better in terms of freshness, while 27% said it was about the same for the two, and 16% said meat alternatives were much or somewhat fresher.
While animal-based meats beat meat alternatives in almost all the descriptors Purdue University tracked, 42% of consumers said beef alternatives were somewhat or much better from an animal welfare perspective, with 38% of people saying beef is much or somewhat better on animal welfare and 19% said both were similar.
“The biggest takeaway from our alternative meat questions is that consumers still overwhelmingly prefer beef from cattle across a wide range of product attributes. This result reinforces the fact that plant-based meat remains a niche product,” Joseph Balagtas, the CFDAS director and a professor of agricultural economics, shared in a press release.
