PI: Joshua Tasoff

Date Awarded: November 2021 (FSRF 2021-1-009)

Abstract (reposted from the working paper):

Animal agriculture is associated with environmental and animal-welfare harms. Past studies on meat-reduction messaging have only tested small sets of messages, often without incentives, making it difficult to determine what works best. We conducted a large online experiment in which 4,871 Americans were shown unique presentations randomly constructed from 14 content modules (animal suffering, environment, health, etc.). We then elicited participants’ valuation for a meat product and a plant-based product for real stakes. We find that the average presentation increased the relative valuation of the plant-based product by $10.05, but there is much heterogeneity in the effect based on message content and sample. The weakest modules’ effects on the most resistant subpopulation are only 44% of the average treatment effect, but the strongest module’s effects on the most persuadable subpopulation are 204% of the average.

Reposted from:

Thomas-Walters, Laura and Anthis, Jacy and Tasoff, Joshua, Optimized messaging shifts choices towards plant-based food (March 14, 2025). Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=5184250 or http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.5184250

Further Information: The working paper can be found on the SSRN website. Study materials, data, and pre-registration are available on the Open Science Framework.