Find us on:
ASFs and Livestock

Plant-based' interventionism

Plant-based' interventionism

In recent times, the role of animal source foods (ASFs) in dietary models has become increasingly controversial. Red and processed meats, in particular, are under scrutiny, with calls for a shift towards plant-based diets. This shift is promoted by various organizations that often influence dietary guidelines at global, national, and regional levels. Some of these actors, like the EAT-Lancet Commission, argue that individual choice alone is insufficient for achieving necessary changes and support measures like marketing campaigns, fiscal incentives, and legal interventions to reduce ASF consumption. Some proponents even suggest extreme measures, such as banning ASFs or using psychological tactics to discourage meat consumption.

This subsection addresses the following five questions:

Criticism of dietary guidelines

Health authorities worldwide shape public eating habits through dietary guidelines, which increasingly recommend reduced animal-sourced saturated fats and limited red meat consumption. Critics argue that these guidelines, based on expert opinions, stifle debate, impose Western nutrition on cultural minorities, and oversimplify nutrition, creating a one-size-fits-all approach. Although poultry is more accepted, recommendations for red meat are much lower than current levels, contrasting with historical diets. Critics question the suitability of this uniform approach to nutrition.

Extreme proposals for interventionism

Some actors, including certain academics, advocate for extreme interventionism to reduce meat consumption. Various tactics have been proposed, such as increasing meat prices, using 'compassion-inducing visual stimuli' on packaging or in restaurants, developing 'disgust-based interventions' like coloring meat blue, employing 'meat-shaming' techniques, creating allergies to beef with patches, launching public campaigns to challenge the association between meat and desirable traits, or even implementing legal bans on animal source foods. There is also a trend of using emotional and anxiety-inducing communication, especially targeting children, to portray meat and dairy as harmful and undesirable food choices.

What has been attempted or achieved?