Meet Cultured Meat: Does the Introduction of New Substitutes Affect Consumer Beliefs?

Ben Grodeck (Economics, Monash University)

Abstract: This paper examines whether information about new (high-quality) substitute goods affects consumers’ beliefs. Specifically, we investigate if cultured meat—meat grown in a laboratory—impacts consumers’ beliefs about animal welfare in factory farms. Models of cognitive dissonance suggest that the introduction of cultured meat should make the external costs of factory farming on animal welfare salient. In an experimental survey on MTurk, we prime respondents by manipulating the information that they receive. We find that participants who are given information about cultured meat increase their pro-social beliefs about animal welfare. We also find that when provided with a choice, participants are willing to pay to avoid reading information about cultured meat. Our findings show that while new substitutes do in fact have some effect on beliefs, producers of such goods may face challenges when introducing these new products to the market.