A new literature review from AgriFood Economics Centre and the Lund University School of Economics and Management (LUSEM) shows that price plays a decisive role when consumers opt for plant-based rather than animal-based products. Health considerations also matter, but they rank below price and taste — and, like environmental concerns, tend to come further down the list.
The report, produced within a Vinnova-funded project at Biotech Heights, compiles research on how to encourage a so-called protein shift — a move towards greater consumption of plant-based proteins.
The researcher behind the study, economist Christian Jörgensen, together with research assistant Hampus Nylén, reviewed the economic literature on policy instruments that can influence consumer behaviour. The findings are clear: economic factors generally outweigh other motives.
“Everyone reacts to price,” says Christian. “If the price of plant-based products goes down, or if the price of meat rises due to, for example, a meat tax, more people will choose the plant-based alternative — and vice versa. The effect varies, but it’s always there.”
While policymakers are often reluctant to introduce taxes on food products, such price-based policy measures have proven the most effective. For instance, this could mean introducing differentiated VAT rates for animal-based and plant-based products.
“Varying tax rates on food are entirely possible, and such a system would create a price shift that influences consumption,” Christian explains.
People respond more readily to health arguments than to environmental ones
The study also shows that soft policy instruments — such as providing information to consumers or using so-called “nudging” techniques (for example, placing vegetarian options higher up on menus or making them the default choice) — can help promote change, though not to the same extent as price mechanisms.
“It’s often easier to get people to respond to health arguments than to environmental ones,” says Christian. “Medical research has long shown that high consumption of red, charred, or processed meat can negatively affect health. A shift towards plant-based proteins is therefore important for health reasons too, even though the greatest benefits lie on the environmental side.”
According to the researchers, the most effective way to promote a protein shift is to combine different types of policy instruments — economic incentives that alter prices, together with informational measures and greater availability of plant-based options.
Ultimately, whether the motivation is health, price, or climate, AgriFood’s literature review shows that the path toward a more sustainable food system requires well-designed policy tools — both economic and informational — that can influence consumption patterns over time.
