Global market research firm Ipsos has revealed that 47% of Generation Z Brits said they would eat cultivated meat products.
Generation Z, which consists of people born between 1997 and 2012, were said by Ipsos to be much more likely than older generations to say they would personally eat cultivated meat, with only 21% of Baby Boomers (born 1946-1964) saying they would do so.
A total of 39% of Millenials (born 1981-1996) surveyed said they would eat cultured meat, and 22% of Gen X (born 1965-1980) also said they would eat it.
The research also found that 58% of British adults said they either knew nothing about cultivated meat or had never heard of it, with Ipsos stating that there was a “genuine potential growth market for cultivated meat in Britain”.
Ipsos said that 33% of respondents chose “not killing animals” as the main perceived benefit of consuming cultivated meat, followed by 21% believing it was “more environmentally friendly”.
A total of 20% cited “reducing risk of diseases from animals to humans” as the main benefit of cultivated meat, while 19% said it required less land and 19% claimed it emitted fewer greenhouse gases compared to conventional livestock farming.
Reported downsides included long-term health impacts of consumption being unclear (48%) and cultivated meat being an unnatural food source (42%), followed by it currently being expensive to produce (25%).
“Consumers do still have some concerns, in particular around the unclear long-term health impacts of cultivated meat.”
Peter Cooper, Ipsos
Commenting on the report findings, Peter Cooper, director global omnibus services at Ipsos, said: “Our Ipsos Observer UK research suggests there is a genuine potential growth market for cultivated meat in Britain, in particular among younger people. With limited knowledge about cultivated, or ‘lab grown’ meat, there is a chance for producers to shape perceptions before it’s done for them.
“That being said, consumers do still have some concerns, in particular around the unclear long-term health impacts of cultivated meat. This will need to be addressed for perceived environmental upsides to be realised.”
