Are UK Consumers Willing to Try Cultivated Meat?

Research conducted by the UK Food Standards Agency (FSA) reveals that a third of UK consumers would try cultured meat, and a quarter would try edible insects. It also revealed that 6 in 10 people are willing to try plant-based products.

An online survey conducted between December 20211 and January 2022 by Ipsos MORI on behalf of FSA, it included 1,930 adults aged 16-75 living in England, Wales, and Northern Ireland.

Important highlights of the study include the following:

• Awareness of alternative proteins is high among consumers, with 90% of respondents reporting that they had heard of plant-based proteins, 80% had heard of edible insects and 78% had heard of lab-grown meat.
• 77% of respondents perceived plant-based proteins as being safe to eat compared to half (50%) for edible insects and 30% for lab-grown meat.
• Six in 10 respondents were willing to try plant-based proteins in their diet, because they thought it was safe to eat (44%), for health reasons (39%), or environmental or sustainability (36%) reasons. 
• 34% were willing to try lab-grown meat and 26% were willing to try edible insects. Environmental and sustainability were the most common reasons for trying lab-grown meat (40%) and edible insects (31%).

For more details about this survey, read the article in FSA News and Alerts and the research project background.