Meaningfully reducing consumption of meat and animal products is an unsolved problem: A meta-analysis

Meaningfully reducing consumption of meat and animal products is an unsolved problem: A meta-analysis | Research Square window.SnipcartSettings = { analytics: { enabled: false } }; (function() { var accessVector = localStorage.getItem('access_vector') || ''; window.dataLayer = window.dataLayer || []; if (accessVector) { window.dataLayer.push({ user: { profile: { profileInfo: { snid: accessVector } } } }); } })(); (function(w,d,s,l,i){w[l]=w[l]||[];w[l].push({'gtm.start':new Date().getTime(),event:'gtm.js'});var f=d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0],j=d.createElement(s),dl=l!='dataLayer'?'&l='+l:'';j.async=true;j.src='https://www.googletagmanager.com/gtm.js?id='+i+dl;f.parentNode.insertBefore(j,f);})(window,document,'script','dataLayer','GTM-K279D39R'); Browse Preprints In Review Journals COVID-19 Preprints AJE Video Bytes Research Tools Research Promotion AJE Professional Editing AJE Rubriq About Preprint Platform In Review Editorial Policies Our Team Advisory Board Help Center Sign In Submit a Preprint Cite Share Download PDF Article Meaningfully reducing consumption of meat and animal products is an unsolved problem: A meta-analysis Seth Green, Austin Smith, Maya Mathur This is a preprint; it has not been peer reviewed by a journal. https://doi.org/ 10.21203/rs.3.rs-5486065/v1 This work is licensed under a CC BY 4.0 License Status: Posted Version 1 posted You are reading this latest preprint version Abstract Which interventions produce the largest and most enduring reductions in consumption of meat and animal products (MAP)? We address this question with a theoretical review and meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials that measured MAP consumption at least one day after intervention. We meta-analyze 35 papers comprising 41 studies, 112 interventions, and approximately 87,000 subjects. We find that these papers employ four major strategies to change behavior: choice architecture, persuasion, psychology, and a combination of persuasion and psychology. The pooled effect of all 112 interventions on MAP consumption is quite small (standardized mean difference (SMD) = 0.07 (95% CI: [0.02, 0.12]), indicating an unsolved problem. Interventions aiming to reduce only consumption of red and processed meat were more effective (SMD = 0.25; 95% CI: [0.11, 0.38]), but it remains unclear whether such interventions increase consumption of other forms of MAP. but it remains unclear whether such interventions also decrease consumption of other forms of MAP. We conclude that while existing approaches do not provide a proven remedy to MAP consumption, designs and measurement strategies have generally been improving over time, and many promising interventions await rigorous evaluation. Social science/Social policy Earth and environmental sciences/Environmental social sciences/Climate-change mitigation Scientific community and society/Agriculture meta-analysis meat plant-based climate change sustainability Full Text Additional Declarations There is NO Competing Interest. Supplementary Files supplementMAPreductionmeta.pdf Supplement to: "Meaningfully reducing consumption of meat and animal products is an unsolved problem: A meta-analysis'" supplementMAPreductionmeta.pdf Cite Share Download PDF Status: Posted Version 1 posted You are reading this latest preprint version Research Square lets you share your work early, gain feedback from the community, and start making changes to your manuscript prior to peer review in a journal. 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Also discoverable on Platform About Our Team In Review Editorial Policies Advisory Board Help Center Resources Author Services Accessibility API Access RSS feed Manage Cookie Preferences © Research Square 2026 | ISSN 2693-5015 (online) Privacy Policy Terms of Service Do Not Sell My Personal Information {"props":{"pageProps":{"initialData":{"identity":"rs-5486065","acceptedTermsAndConditions":true,"allowDirectSubmit":true,"archivedVersions":[],"articleType":"Article","associatedPublications":[],"authors":[{"id":383965336,"identity":"9a7a11eb-b14d-40cb-981c-a79e2e569443","order_by":0,"name":"Seth 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