I worry that messages that suggests beef is particularly harmful to the environment are likely to increase farm animal suffering by causing people to replace their beef consumption with chicken, pork, and fish.
Some evidence to support this view: “With intended behavior, we see clear and significant differences between the different options. Respondents were significantly more likely to replace beef with chicken/fish/pork (a) than they were any of the other mitigation options (bc). As expected, they were significantly less likely to refrain from eating meat completely (c) than all other options.”
I worry that messages that suggests beef is particularly harmful to the environment are likely to increase farm animal suffering by causing people to replace their beef consumption with chicken, pork, and fish.
Some evidence to support this view: “With intended behavior, we see clear and significant differences between the different options. Respondents were significantly more likely to replace beef with chicken/fish/pork (a) than they were any of the other mitigation options (bc). As expected, they were significantly less likely to refrain from eating meat completely (c) than all other options.”
Source: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S030691921630077X
The full paper is paywalled, but I’d be happy to share the PDF with anyone who’s interested. Just send me a message.