{
  "id": 9625166,
  "title": "Plant-based meat labels make food seem less masculine, study finds",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/09/24/plant-based-meat-labels-make-food-seem-less-masculine-study-finds",
  "topic": "science",
  "section": "Science",
  "published": "2026-09-24T20:00:47.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "PsyPost",
    "slug": "psypost",
    "url": "https://www.psypost.org/plant-based-meat-labels-make-food-seem-less-masculine-study-finds/"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "A recent study suggests that labeling food as a plant-based meat alternative can make it appear less masculine, resulting in unfavorable opinions, particularly among individuals who hold hostile sexist beliefs. These findings were published in Social Psychological and Personality Science. Animal agriculture imposes a significant environmental burden and raises ethical and public health concerns, making plant-based alternatives a potential solution. However, many meat-eaters remain resistant to these alternatives, with gender playing a significant role in this resistance. Research indicates that vegetarianism has increased among women over the past 15 years, while men's rates have remained largely unchanged. Cultural symbolism plays a role in this resistance, as meat is often associated with masculinity and strength. A 2012 study found that people across cultures subconsciously link meat with maleness and masculinity, leading to a perceived loss of status when giving up meat. Building on this, a 2023 paper suggested that giving up meat threatens a man's sense of manhood, triggering psychological resistance. Recent studies have also linked dietary choices to beliefs about social dominance, with hostile sexist attitudes strongly tied to the belief that humans should dominate animals and the natural world. The study, led by Alina Salmen and Kristof Dhont, explored whether labeling food as plant-based influences perceptions of its masculinity and appeal. The researchers conducted two experiments involving 216 university students in the UK and 1,182 adults in the US, all of whom were meat-eaters. In both experiments, participants viewed food images labeled either as \"regular meat,\" \"plant-based meat,\" or \"cultured meat.\" The plant-based label made the dishes appear less masculine, leading to worse evaluations in terms of expected taste, smell, appeal, and overall likelihood of eating the food. This effect was more pronounced among individuals with higher levels of hostile sexism, who were also more likely to distance themselves from plant-based foods.",
  "summary": "A new study indicates that simply labeling a dish as \"plant-based\" makes meat-eaters view it as less masculine. This leads to more negative evaluations, especially among individuals who hold hostile sexist beliefs.",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 1,
    "also_reported_by": []
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}