Sessions

The increasing consumption of meat is associated with significant environmental impacts and animal-welfare concerns. To reduce these impacts, alternative protein sources are receiving more attention, especially plant-based substitutes and analogues. However, their wider adoption is still limited due to low consumer acceptance. School catering plays an important role in shaping young people’s eating habits and attitudes. The goal of my research is to understand the food preferences of young people, in order to support the development of more sustainable institutional catering.

The data were collected using a paper-based questionnaire with 20 questions, most of which used a five-point Likert scale. A total of 815 respondents completed the survey. The questions focused on satisfaction with school catering, the liking of various foods/food categories, perceptions of healthfulness and sustainability, and also examined the frequency of meat and legume consumption. The collected data were entered into Excel, followed by descriptive statistical analysis. Further statistical analyses were performed in JASP.

The preference scores show that only a small number of students like the plant-based substitutes. Legumes, vegetables, and fruits do not receive much higher scores either, whereas meat and dairy are rated much more positively, along with sweets and pasta dishes. Among participants, 73% report that they eat meat every day, while only 5% eat legumes on a daily basis. For legumes, a significant positive correlation is observed between consumption frequency and liking. Furthermore, those who like vegetarian dishes are more likely to consider them healthier and more sustainable as well. Girls are generally more open to plant-based substitutes, while boys clearly prefer meat-based dishes. The results also indicate that taste is the most important factor in overall satisfaction. By improving it, meatless dishes could gain greater acceptance in school catering, which could contribute to a more sustainable diet.

Meat consumption is an everyday practice, while plant-based proteins are still not widely accepted, which goes against the current sustainability goals in institutional catering. Preference seems to be more strongly linked to how healthy a food is considered, rather than how sustainable it is, which may point to knowledge gaps. To overcome this, awareness-raising is needed. To achieve more sustainable school catering, it would be worthwhile to offer options that match young people’s taste preferences. This may play a key role in forming the dietary habits of future generations.