Why children moralise harm to animals but not meat

Jared Piazza; Victoria Simpson; Luke McGuire

doi:10.1016/j.tics.2023.05.004

Why children moralise harm to animals but not meat

Trends Cogn Sci. 2023 Aug;27(8):685-688. doi: 10.1016/j.tics.2023.05.004. Epub 2023 May 31.

Authors

Jared Piazza¹, Victoria Simpson², Luke McGuire³

Affiliations

¹ Department of Psychology, Lancaster University, Bailrigg, Lancaster, UK. Electronic address: j.piazza@lancaster.ac.uk.
² Department of Psychology, Lancaster University, Bailrigg, Lancaster, UK.
³ Department of Psychology, University of Exeter, Exeter, UK.

PMID: 37263855
DOI: 10.1016/j.tics.2023.05.004

Abstract

Many children care about animals yet are accepting of meat consumption. This may reflect a disconnect between children's meat eating, food-systems knowledge, and their moral evaluations. A theoretical framework is proposed for understanding the developmental trajectory of this disconnection. We discuss its components and the implications for dietary interventions.

Keywords: animals; children; food systems; meat; morality.

MeSH terms

Animals
Meat*
Morals*