Vegetarian and sustainable food consumption behavior: Exploring the relation to explicit and implicit attitudes toward vegetarian foods and dispositional mindfulness

Abstract

Objectives: This study investigates the relation between explicit and implicit attitude measures toward vegetarian and meat-based foods and sustainable, specifically vegetarian food consumption behavior. Moreover, attitude preferences and differences between the nutrition groups of vegetarians/ vegans and omnivores were examined. In addition, the possible relationships between specific facets of dispositional mindfulness and explicit and implicit attitudes and nutrition behavior measures were explored.

Methods: This is a cross-sectional online study. Two hundred sixty-one participants completed a dispositional mindfulness questionnaire, explicit and implicit nutrition attitude measurements, and nutrition behavior assessments.

Results: We found a strong correlation between explicit and implicit attitude measures. Both nutrition groups showed an implicit preference for vegetarian over meat-based foods. However, the group of vegetarians/ vegans explicitly preferred vegetarian foods and vegetarianism in almost all explicit attitude measures. In contrast, the findings in the group of omnivores were rather heterogeneous. Furthermore, the results showed that measures of explicit and implicit attitudes, together with two facets of dispositional mindfulness (Outer Awareness and Insight), predicted the vegetarian choice in the online supermarket scenario, indicating positive relationships, except for Insight.

Conclusion: Our findings suggest a correspondence of explicit and implicit attitudes toward vegetarian foods and highlight their role in vegetarian nutrition behavior. In addition, we underscore the potential role of dispositional mindfulness and mindfulness interventions in promoting vegetarian consumption behavior. As there are attitude differences in the nutrition groups, the primary target group for mindfulness interventions should be individuals following an omnivorous diet.

Keywords: Attitudes; Mindfulness; Sustainable food consumption; Vegetarianism.