Planetary and human health depend on Westerners’ ability to reduce meat consumption. Meat production degrades the environment while excessive meat intake is associated with cancer and cardiovascular disease, among others. Effective reasons and motivations are needed for consumers to change their diet. The fact that modern animal agriculture inflicts a great deal of pain on animals from their birth to their slaughter, animal welfare/suffering may drive consumers to curtail their meat consumption. This systematic review examined a total of 90 papers to ascertain consumers’ awareness of the pain animals experience in animal agriculture, as well as consumer attitudes towards meat reduction due to animal welfare. Results show that consumers have low awareness of animal agriculture. Awareness of animal agricultural practices and animal sentience is associated with increased negative attitudes towards animal suffering. Animal suffering due to farming practices, transportation, slaughter, and animal sentience are factors that may encourage a reduction in meat consumption, and even dietary change in the short term. There is also evidence that animal suffering may be a more compelling motivation for consumers’ willingness to change their diet than for health or environmental reasons. Therefore, increasing consumers’ awareness of animal suffering in meat production is paramount to contributing to reduced pressure on the environment and improved human health.

Based on a sample of 46 Portuguese schoolbooks, this study aims to understand how factory-farmed animals are presented in such books across the themes of food and health, the environment and sustainability, and animal welfare. It examines whether schoolbooks address the importance of reducing the consumption of animal-based products for a healthy diet, whether plant-based diets are recognized as healthy, whether animal welfare and agency are considered, and whether the livestock sector is indicated as a major factor in environmental degradation. The findings show that schoolbooks present animals as essential for economic activities and human nutrition. Recommendations on reducing the consumption of animal-based products in consideration of the environment, sustainability and human health are very rare. Animal production is presented as benign, and the agency and welfare of factory-farmed animals are simply not addressed.

Sustainability education is crucial in helping students deal with current health and environmental challenges through dietary choices. This study aims to provide an understanding of how the teachers surveyed (n = 416, 85% women; 58% teaching natural sciences) view the importance of the following interrelated issues for sustainability: (1) the viability of diets for tackling environmental challenges and natural resource management; (2) the health benefits of traditional versus plant-based diets; and (3) the impacts of factory farming on animals and animal sentience. Most participants recognised the importance of a sustainable education model that encourages reducing meat consumption while adopting healthy plant-based diets. Furthermore, the majority recognise animal sentience and agree that schools should address the negative impacts of factory farming on animals and the environment. The results are striking, as they indicate that most teachers’ views contrast with the traditionalist and instrumental portrayal of animals in national core curricula.

In modern Western societies, consumers are often disconnected from the animal origins of meat, which facilitates meat consumption by reducing empathy towards animals, and feelings of disgust and guilt. Conversely, animal advocates may appeal to meat's animal origins to evoke moral emotions that discourage meat consumption. This preregistered study investigated the effectiveness of such meat-animal reminders among 421 meat-eating participants from the UK, recruited via Prolific. Participants were randomly exposed to one of three images: a pork chop without animal reminder (control condition), a pork chop paired with a human petting a pig (animal caring appeal) or paired with a human stunning a pig before slaughter (animal cruelty appeal). Based on harm-based accounts of moral judgment, we measured moral emotions oriented to the pig victim (e.g., empathy, sadness), the human perpetrator (e.g., anger, disgust) and the self (e.g., guilt, shame), and examined their effects on participants' willingness to change pork chop consumption and tendency to justify pork-eating. ANOVA analysis revealed that both animal appeals (vs. control) increased moral emotions, while mediation analyses indicated that these emotions indirectly decreased pork-eating justification and increased willingness for dietary change. The animal cruelty appeal seemed particularly effective by evoking perpetrator- and victim-oriented emotions. However, we also found evidence of counteractive effects on pork-eating justification and willingness for dietary change once moral emotions were controlled for, suggesting moral disengagement. Hedonic motivations to eat meat remain a significant barrier. Future research should further explore interventions that enable consumers to translate moral concerns into lasting dietary change.

Este estudo procura compreender as práticas e atitudes de trabalhadores que lidam com o abate e desmancha de animais num matadouro. Para o efeito, fez-se trabalho de observação, complementado com o uso de registos fotográficos, durante o “encaminhamento”, “atordoamento”, “pendura”, “sangria” e “desmancha” dos animais na “linha de abate”; bem como o método de análise qualitativa, que requereu entrevistar oito indivíduos: duas mulheres e seis homens. Embora os trabalhadores reconheçam os animais como seres sensíveis, a operacionalização das suas tarefas na “linha de abate” está dependente de estratégias que requerem objetificação e distanciamento emocional. Foram também evidenciadas atitudes conflituosas relacionadas com determinadas espécies de animais. O contexto laboral (matadouro), o tempo despendido, as tarefas desempenhadas, a espécie dos animais, sobretudo o género e as trajetórias socioculturais dos trabalhadores destacaram-se como fatores predominantes de influência nas práticas e atitudes apuradas.