Social sustainable diets: Supporting the transition to plant-based foods through close relationships

全球肉类生产对环境产生重大负面影响。畜牧业占全球温室气体排放总量的12 - 18%（IPCC，2019），并对生物多样性丧失、森林砍伐和抗生素耐药性做出了重大贡献（Godfray等人，2018年）。转向以植物为基础的饮食是一种高影响的行为，可以帮助减少29-56%的温室气体排放和其他环境影响（Springmann等人，2018年）。尽管如此，许多消费者仍不愿意减少肉类消费（Bryant，2019）。在我的博士学位期间，我发现肉类食品比植物性食品以更有利的方式呈现给他人，即使是素食主义者。此外，还有饮食两极分化的指标，植物性食品引发了强烈的社会政治和身份认同反应。在社会分化日益加剧的时代，如何减少社会对植物性食品的抵制？该奖学金的主要目的是准备一份赠款提案，重点是密切的社会关系是否可以使消费者更容易转向可持续饮食。为了支持这一点，我将首先进行一个与我的博士研究结果相关的最终实验（项目4），研究杂食者和素食者在想象与亲密伴侣交流时，与陌生人相比，是否会以更有益的方式描述植物性食物。关注亲密的伴侣是否会强调吃植物性食物的潜在奖励体验，从而使其更具吸引力？我还将测量这种变化是否取决于陌生人或亲密人的饮食偏好。这些试点数据对于我的资助申请至关重要，以了解密切关系在改变人们对可持续食品的思考和沟通方式方面的作用。然后，我将制定一个有效的复杂行为改变干预的5年计划（Skivington等人，2021年），通过可信赖的社会关系促进即时和长期的可持续食品选择。以前的研究表明，关注人际关系可以促进健康行为的改变（Umberson等人，2010; Latkin &诺尔顿，2015），可持续行为也可能如此。我将设计几个混合方法的研究，调查是否采用植物性饮食更容易与亲密的朋友，浪漫的伴侣或家庭成员。这可能是出于实际原因（例如烹饪，购物），社会原因（例如共同关注奖励饮食体验），或身份原因（例如一起形成新的饮食身份）。我将首先进行定性研究，采访与参加素食主义的人一起生活的人，以确定接触植物性消费实践如何弥合素食主义者和杂食者的鸿沟。另一项研究将研究是否给予一对夫妇与一个人以植物为基础的膳食订阅（例如allplants）可以导致长期减少肉类消费。进一步的纵向研究将测量二元关系所涉及的过程，浪漫伴侣的行为变化与亲密朋友、室友或家庭成员的行为变化相同。其他研究将采用社交网络方法来衡量夫妇可持续饮食选择的影响范围，并将衡量夫妇在饮食过渡期间如何就食物进行沟通。最后一组研究将形成一个复杂的干预措施，通过一个亲密的合作伙伴的鼓励来激励植物性消费。该赠款提案将纳入跨学科方法，直接评估干预措施的气候影响。例如，我将与一位建模师合作，估算一位消费者在亲密合作伙伴的支持下采用植物性饮食所节省的碳排放量。这项拟议中的研究将通过将夫妇视为一个整体的社会实体来解决对植物性饮食的抵制，如果成功，将使碳排放量减少一倍。

Global meat production has a significant negative impact on the environment. Livestock agriculture is responsible for 12 - 18% of total global greenhouse gas emissions (IPCC, 2019) and contributes significantly to biodiversity loss, deforestation and antibiotic resistance (Godfray et al., 2018). Switching to plant-based diets is a high-impact behaviour that can help reduce greenhouse gas emissions and other environmental impacts by 29-56% (Springmann et al., 2018). Despite this, many consumers are reluctant to reduce their meat consumption (Bryant, 2019). During my PhD, I found that meat foods were presented to others in more favourable ways than plant-based foods, even by vegans. In addition, there were indicators of dietary polarisation, where plant-based foods triggered strong socio-political and identity-focused reactions.During an era of increasing social divide, how can societal resistance towards plant-based foods be reduced? The main aim of this Fellowship is to prepare a grant proposal that focuses on whether close social relationships can make the switch to sustainable diets easier for consumers. To support this, I will first conduct a final experiment related to my PhD findings (Project 4), examining whether omnivores and vegans describe plant-based foods in more rewarding ways when they imagine communicating to a close partner, compared to a stranger. Does focusing on a close partner emphasise the potential reward experience of eating a plant-based food, and thus make it more appealing? I will also measure whether this changes dependent on the dietary preferences of the stranger or close other. This pilot data will be essential for my grant applications to understand the role of close relationships in altering how people think and communicate about sustainable foods.Then, I will develop a 5-year plan for an effective complex behaviour change intervention (Skivington et al., 2021) that promotes immediate and long-term sustainable food choices through trusted social relationships. Previous work has shown that focusing on relationships can boost health behaviour change (Umberson et al., 2010; Latkin & Knowlton, 2015), and the same may be true for sustainable behaviours. I will design several mixed-methods studies that investigate whether adopting a plant-based diet is easier with a close friend, romantic partner or family member. This could be for practical reasons (e.g. cooking, shopping), social reasons (e.g. shared focus on rewarding eating experiences), or identity reasons (e.g. forming a new dietary identity together).I will first conduct a qualitative study, interviewing individuals who live with someone taking part in Veganuary, to establish how exposure to plant-based consumption practices may bridge the vegan-omnivore divide. Another study will examine whether giving a plant-based meal subscription (e.g. allplants) to a couple versus an individual can lead to long-term reductions in meat consumption. A further longitudinal study will measure the processes involved in dyadic relationships and behaviour change are the same for romantic partners as for close friends, flatmates or family members. Additional studies will take a social-network approach to measure the scope of influence from a couple's sustainable dietary choices, and will measure how couples communicate about food during their dietary transition. The final set of studies will form a complex intervention measure to motivate plant-based consumption via encouragement from a close partner.This grant proposal will incorporate interdisciplinary methodologies to directly assess the climate impact of the intervention. For example, I will work with a modeler to estimate the carbon emissions saved by a consumer adopting a plant-based diet with the support of a close partner. This proposed research will tackle resistance to plant-based diets by treating couples as a whole social entity, doubling the reduction in carbon emissions if successful.