It’s easy to maintain when the changes are small: Exploring sustainability motivated dietary changes from a self-control perspective.
Reducing meat and dairy intake is necessary to mitigate the effects of animal agriculture on global warming. Yet, doing so may be challenging. How can sustainably motivated individuals’ transition into a plant-based diet be facilitated? We conducted a pre-registered qualitative survey with 80 participants to explore their experiences of reduction, the role of self-control, habits, identity, and social norms in shaping these experiences. We analysed the data using thematic analysis and generated three themes. Theme 1 captures participants’ incompatible short-term and long-term motivations, which led to experiences of conflict. Managing conflict required self-control. Theme 2 describes aspects of food and social environment, such as social feedback, and food availability, cost, and appeal, that hindered or supported participants’ attempts at reducing meat and dairy intake. Furthermore, most reducers did not want to be identified with various dietary groups, particularly with flexitarians. Theme 3 captures strategies, varying in efforts, that helped participants overcome internal conflicts or challenges from the food and social environment. Examples include avoiding choice situations, or behavioural substitution, which facilitated behaviour maintenance through small and comfortable changes that fit with participants’ liking, taste, and preferences. Our findings highlight the need to temper negative social feedback and introduce more favourable social norms to support meat and dairy reduction. Interventions that aim to support the transition to sustainable eating also need to consider the identity of consumers.