Potential consequences of COVID-19 for sustainable meat consumption: the role of food safety concerns and responsibility attributions

While coping with severe damages of the ongoing coronavirus outbreak worldwide, this study enlightens the potential effects of the pandemic on young adults' willingness to avoid game meat consumption as well as to purchase animal welfare products.

In a structural equation model (N = 234), food safety concerns and perceived responsibility for a future change of individuals, marketers and the government as predictors are related to behavioral intentions. Further, two antecedents of food safety concern including risk perception and anxiety related to coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) are tested.

Using a Chinese sample, results indicated that food safety concern – triggered by risk perception and anxiety – negatively affected willingness to buy animal welfare products. Perceived responsibility of marketers' change positively relates to people's willingness to avoid game meat and to buy animal welfare products, while the latter is also positively related to perceived governmental responsibility.

Consumers demand marketers to improve safety and hygiene standards as it is a necessary condition for adopting sustainable consumption behaviors. Animal welfare products have the potential to pronounce the demanded level of product safety, while the game meat market needs to be prepared for necessary adaptations for coping with the adverse effects of COVID-19.

This article adds knowledge to the behavioral consequences of a viral hazard in the context of sustainable food choices while relating those to attribution theories and food safety concerns.