According to a new study, a large proportion of 4 to 7-year-old youngsters in the United States believe hotdogs, hamburgers, and bacon are made from plants.
A team of psychologists asked children to categorize a variety of items, including cheese, french fries, bacon, popcorn, shrimp, almonds, and egg, in a study published in the Journal of Environmental Psychology. The results revealed a variety of surprises, including the fact that 47 percent of the 176 participants thought french fries were made from animals.
Cheese was frequently misdiagnosed as being plant-based, with 44% erroneously identifying its origin. 41 percent thought bacon was produced in a factory (we wish), and 40 percent thought hot dogs were produced in a factory. Even chicken nuggets, which have the word “chicken” in their name, were mislabeled as coming from plants 38% of the time.
“Popcorn and almonds were also frequently misclassified [as animal-based] by more than 30% of children,” the researchers write in their findings.
In addition to measuring the children’s knowledge of food origins, the team investigated which animals and plants the children felt could and could not be eaten. There appears to be a lot of misunderstanding regarding what is and isn’t edible, with the majority believing that cows (77 percent), pigs (73 percent), and poultry (65 percent) are all inedible. One percent thought sand was edible, which was five times fewer than the percentage that thought cat was a form of food.
The study found that there are many misconceptions about eating at this young age – but the researchers believe this could be an opportunity.
“Most children in the United States […] ingest animal products, but unlike adults, who have developed an arsenal of justifications for animal consumption, youngsters appear to be naive meat eaters,” the team stated in their discussion. “According to the current study, toddlers eat meat unwittingly, maybe in violation of a prejudice towards animals as a food source. Childhood may thus constitute a unique window of opportunity for establishing lifelong plant-based diets more easily than later in life.”
The team believes that part of the lack of awareness is due to parents hiding information about where meat originates from because they believe it is too gruesome for children to understand at such a young age.
“Rather than dealing with the inconvenience of cooking multiple meal options or confronting the emotions that may arise from learning that the bacon on their child’s plate was once a living, breathing pig, some parents choose to skirt the truth entirely through vague terminology, which may have long-term consequences for their children’s eating habits.”
The team argues that by being more upfront about the source of foods (for example, explaining kids how sausage is created) and providing more meat alternatives, children will naturally gravitate toward plant-based diets.
The team states, “At the household level, youth climate advocacy may begin at the dinner table.”
“Children would be acting in accordance with their moral views of the environment if they refrain from eating items that contravene their ideas about the well-being of animals. Children’s ethical eating habits may influence those of their parents, in addition to lowering their own carbon footprints.”
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