Are All Meats Substitutes? A Basket Based Approach

This article examines the relationship among animal-based meat and plant-based meat alternatives using a basket and expenditure-based choice experiment (BEBCE). In particular, we examine whether animal-based meat products are substitutes or complements with plant based meat alternatives. Further, we incorporate consumer beliefs about their diet and environmental attitudes into the analysis. What we find is that plant based meat alternatives are not substitutes but rather complements or independent from one another. We also find that environmental and diet beliefs positively contribute to consumer utility for plant based alternatives. This study also demonstrate the strength of a basket based approach to examining complex consumer choices that require both discrete and continuous decisions in food purchasing