Description
Food production and consumption directly impacts the environment and human health. Protein in particular has significant cultural and health implications, and how people make decisions about what type of protein they eat has not been studied directly. Many decision tools exist to offer recommendations for seafood, but neglect livestock or plant protein. This study attempts to address these shortcomings in food decision science and tools by asking the questions: 1) What qualities of a dietary protein-based decision tool make it effective? 2) What do people consider when making decisions about what type of protein to consume? Using literature review, meta-analysis, and surveys, this study attempts to determine how the knowledge gained from answering these questions can be used to develop an electronic tool to engage consumers in making sustainable and healthy decisions about protein consumption. The data show that, given environmental and health information about the protein types, people in the sample of farmers market shoppers are more likely to purchase wild salmon and organically grown soybeans, and less likely to purchase grain-fed beef. However, the order of preference among the six types of protein did not change. Additional results suggest that there is a disconnect between consumers and sources of dietary protein, indicating a need for improved education. Inconsistency in labeling and information regarding protein types is a large source of confusion for consumers who participated in the survey, highlighting the need for transparency. Results of this study suggest that decisions tools may help improve decision making, but new ways of using them need to be considered to achieve this.
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Details
Title
- Identifying key attributes in decisions about protein consumption
Contributors
- Geren, Sarah (Author)
- Gerber, Leah (Thesis advisor)
- Minteer, Ben (Committee member)
- Wentz, Elizabeth (Committee member)
- Arvai, Joseph (Committee member)
- Arizona State University (Publisher)
Date Created
The date the item was original created (prior to any relationship with the ASU Digital Repositories.)
2015
Subjects
Resource Type
Collections this item is in
Note
- thesisPartial requirement for: M.S., Arizona State University, 2015
- bibliographyIncludes bibliographical references (pages 40-46)
- Field of study: Liberal studies
Citation and reuse
Statement of Responsibility
by Sarah Geren