Replacing meat consumption with legumes in Sweden – a consumer analysis

Abstract

Meat consumption is among the leading contributors to diet-related diseases and greenhouse
gas emissions in Sweden, while legume consumption remains significantly below dietary recommendations. This study aimed to understand the beliefs, perceptions, and behaviors of adult
consumers in Sweden regarding reducing meat consumption and increasing legume intake
through a consumer survey. The survey collected responses from 398 eligible participants and
investigated consumption frequencies of meat and legumes, beliefs and associations around
both foods, and the factors that influence the consumers’ intentions to swap some of the meat
in their diets with legumes. Ten criteria were assessed across multiple questions using a sevenpoint Likert scale. The criteria were derived from a multicriteria decision analysis framework
to evaluate the integrated health, environmental, economic and social impacts of dietary substitutions, adapted to a consumer survey format by selecting criteria directly perceivable by consumers, and supplemented with additional criteria from previous Swedish consumer research.
The criteria covered tastiness, ease of preparation, familiarity, social compatibility, affordability, accessibility, local production, environmental sustainability, healthiness, and body weight
control. Statistical analyses were performed to assess the answers using non-parametric tests
for ordinal data.
The results from the survey reveal that swapping intentions are primarily driven by tastiness,
healthiness, and accessibility, with tastiness being the highest rated criterion overall, and the
only one receiving a score above 6 out of 7. Respondents already associate legumes with positive qualities such as healthiness, affordability, and environmental sustainability compared to
meat, but these are not sufficient to overcome the perceived taste advantage of meat according
to respondents. Social compatibility, which received the lowest score for respondents’ regular
diets, showed a behavioral correlation with both meat and legume consumption frequencies,
suggesting that it is an indirect driver of dietary behavior. Younger consumers were found to
eat more legumes than older consumers, while men consumed significantly more meat than
women. The findings suggest that effective interventions should prioritize improving the sensory appeal of legumes, increasing exposure to legumes through public settings, and reshaping
consumer perceptions around both legumes and meat simultaneously.

Popular Abstract

Swapping meat for legumes, what would it take?
If you live in Sweden, chances are you consume meat almost every day. Beans, lentils, and
peas, on the other hand, probably appear on your plate only a few times a week or less. This
difference matters because eating less meat and more legumes is one of the most impactful
dietary changes a person can make for both personal health and planetary health. Meat consumption is associated with colorectal cancer, cardiovascular disease, and a significant percentage of greenhouse gas emissions in Sweden. In contrast, legumes are rich in fiber and folate,
important nutrients that most Swedish consumers have too little of in their diets and have a
fraction of the climate footprint of meat.
If there are such strong claims about the reduction of meat and increasing legumes, why aren’t
more people already making the swap? This is exactly what this study aims to understand. A
survey was conducted among 398 adults living in Sweden, asking them about their meat and
legume eating habits, what they think about both foods, and what would need to happen for
them to replace some of the meat in their diet with legumes.
The answer came down largely to taste. The respondents rated tastiness as the most important
factor when considering the swap. It was more important than health, cost, or environmental
impact. And while people generally acknowledged that legumes are healthy, affordable, and
good for the environment, those positive qualities were not enough on their own to motivate
change. Meat simply tastes better to most people, and that is an important barrier to overcome
to make this dietary change.
A few other findings stood out. Younger people tend to eat more legumes than older generations,
possibly because legumes were historically associated with poverty in Sweden and older consumers grew up in a time when eating meat was seen as prosperous. Men also consume significantly more meat than women, a pattern that research suggests is tied to cultural associations
between consuming meat and masculinity.
One of the more surprising findings was on the role of social influence. When asked directly,
most respondents stated that what others eat around them has little impact on their own diets.
Yet the data showed that people who eat more legumes or meat tend to be surrounded by people
who also consume them frequently. This suggests that dietary change may spread more naturally through social environments than through individual persuasion. If legumes become more
common in cafeterias, school lunches, and restaurant menus, people may naturally adopt them
in their diets.
The takeaway for anyone working to make the Swedish diets healthier and more sustainable
through popularizing legumes is to focus on making legumes taste great, making them easy to
find and prepare, and familiarizing people with legumes in public settings where people can
discover them without any pressure, the rest will come.

• author: Öncü, Nehir
• supervisor: Håkan Jönsson; Sara Monteiro Pires
• organization: Food Technology and Nutrition (M.Sc.)
• course: KLTM02 20261
• year: 2026
• type: H2 - Master's Degree (Two Years)
• subject: Agriculture and Food Sciences
• keywords: meat consumption, legume consumption, dietary change, plant-based diet, consumer survey, consumer perceptions, sustainability, food engineering nutrition and food chemistry
• language: English
• id: 9230168
• date added to LUP: 2026-06-04 12:26:59
• date last changed: 2026-06-04 12:26:59