Food essentialism is associated with perceptions of plant-based meat alternatives possessing properties of meat-based products.

A transition to greater plant-based protein consumption is recognized as a necessity for planetary and human well-being. A critical driver of acceptance of plant-based meat alternatives (PBMAs) is perceived similarity in their sensory and nutritional profiles with conventional animal-based meat. Consumers vary in food essentialism - beliefs that categories of foods have innate and immutable 'essences' that are responsible for their shared properties. Here, we examined whether food essentialism is associated with perceptions that PBMAs share similar properties as the animal-based products they replicate. Participants (N=298) rated two animal-based food items (beef burger and canned tuna) and two corresponding PBMAs (plant-based burger and tuna) on perceived processing, naturalness, nutritiousness, taste (like beef or fish), typical health benefits, and liking. Participants holding higher (vs. lower) food essentialism beliefs rated PBMAs as less processed, more natural, tasting more like beef (plant-based burger only), possessing greater health benefits of the animal-based products, and as more liked (plant-based tuna only). These relationships between food essentialism and perceived food properties were observed more consistently for PBMAs than their animal-based counterparts. Beliefs that food items from a common category, such as beef, share similar essences and properties may extend to PBMAs despite their non-animal origins. Given the challenges in developing PBMAs that adequately replicate the taste, texture, and nutritional properties of meat, targeting intuitions that guide perceived similarities of PBMAs and meat, like food essentialism, may be a promising approach for supporting the protein transition.

Shaping sustainable consumption: Quebec consumers' knowledge and beliefs about the environmental impacts of food.

There is growing evidence that shifts in food consumption have the potential to mitigate the environmental impacts of food systems. Yet, although Canadians are increasingly concerned about climate change, changes towards more sustainable food consumption patterns are not widely observed. Understanding consumers' perspective on these issues is crucial for bridging this gap between individual behaviors and collective concerns. This study explores the knowledge, understanding and beliefs of Quebec consumers regarding the environmental impacts of food and their potential for shaping sustainable food consumption. A representative sample of consumers (N = 978) answered an online questionnaire assessing their factual knowledge and investigating their views of food systems impacts. Results indicate low levels of knowledge and highlight widely shared beliefs regarding food systems. Consumers tended to overestimate the role of transport in food's environmental footprint and believe that reducing transport or eating local foods are the most effective ways to improve environmental sustainability. Likewise, consumers tend to underestimate the impact of production, as well as solutions that could effectively reduce this impact. The findings reveal a need for improved literacy and awareness of the environmental impacts of food, thereby highlighting the importance of effective information and education strategies to shape sustainable food consumption habits.

Food essentialism: Implications for expectations and perceptions of the properties of processed foods.

Despite the impact of processed foods on health, sustainability, and food security, consumers vary greatly in expectations about and preferences for processed foods. Essentialism is the lay belief that items in a category share a fundamental and immutable essence that generates the category's defining characteristics. Although essentialism may be an important determinant of consumers' cognitions about processed foods, there has been limited investigation of essentialism's role in food-related perceptions. Across two studies (n=598 total), we used a novel measure of food essentialism to examine whether individual differences in beliefs about foods as having essences (food essentialism) are related to perceptions of foods retaining more of their natural characteristics (sensory and nutritive properties) despite their level of processing. Across diverse food categories (meats, vegetables, fruits, legumes, dairy), higher levels of perceived food processing were associated with lower perceived retention of naturalness, nutritiousness, natural taste, functional post-ingestive benefits, and acceptability (liking). However, participants endorsing greater (vs. lower) food essentialism beliefs exhibited weaker relationships between perceived processing and these characteristics. We also observed variations across food categories in relationships between perceived level of processing and food properties, suggesting that some foods (i.e., milk-based products) are perceived to possess essences that are more robust despite undergoing higher levels of processing. These findings demonstrate that food-specific essentialism beliefs may be a fundamental determinant of consumers' expectations of how human intervention, such as processing, affects natural properties of foods. These beliefs may be a promising target for future research to shift consumer acceptance of processed foods.

Consumer attitudes towards evidence based mental health services among American mental health consumers.

The Consumer Attitudes towards Evidence Based Services (CAEBS) scale is a 29-item questionnaire designed to assess public views on the role of science in helping to guide mental health treatment. The aim of the current study was to assess the Factor structure the CAEBS in an online sample of adults seeking information about mental health services. The CAEBS was administered to a nationwide sample of participants from websites offering classified advertisements for mental health related study participation (n = 312). An Exploratory Factor Analysis (EFA) suggested four factors based on 26 of the items: Beliefs Regarding Therapists' Practices, Attitudes about Mental Health Policy, Negative Personal-Level Attitudes toward EBPs, and Negative Societal-Level Attitudes towards EBPs. In order to increase consumer empowerment within the mental health-care system and develop policies supporting EBP usage, mental health professionals need to increase communication with the public to address these concerns and leverage positive attitudes.

Consumers' perceptions of the dietary supplement health and education act: implications and recommendations.

In 1994, the United States Congress passed the Dietary Supplement Health and Education Act (DSHEA). The regulatory framework for dietary supplements created by DSHEA has led to significant misperceptions regarding consumers' understanding of the safety and efficacy of supplements. Research shows that consumers erroneously believe that: (1) supplements are approved by the government, (2) supplements have been tested for safety and effectiveness, (3) the content of supplements is analyzed, and (4) manufacturers are required to disclose known adverse effects to consumers. Furthermore, labelling requirements that are intended to provide transparency to consumers are relatively ineffective. The following four recommendations are offered for reforming DSHEA: (1) only allow structure-function claims that are supported by research evidence, (2) require manufacturers to list known adverse effects on the labels of dietary supplements, (3) require that the Food and Drug Administration analyzes the content of dietary supplements and (4) restrict the definition of dietary ingredients. These recommendations would bring DSHEA to more closely align with consumer expectations regarding the regulation of dietary supplements and would likely provide a safer landscape for the use of supplements. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.