New young installation stimulates the British public to think differently about their meat-eating habits
‘Meat Your Persona,’ created by public engagement consultancy The Liminal Space and funded by Wellcom, is a touring installation designed to get the UK talking about eating meat, its environmental impact, and how much meat is actually good for people.
Visitors to the installation will find a series of structures, each housing part of an interactive quiz where they can discover which one of the six ‘meat personas’ they are: from 'part-time carnivore' to ‘adventurous eater', before learning how to make their eating habits better for their own health and the health of the planet.
LEAP researchers will be on-hand to share the latest insights on meat production and consumption and there will also be opportunities for the public to share their views and to get involved with LEAP’s ongoing research, including a study of people trying to reduce their meat intake.
“By using an approachable, personal lens to view this global problem, Meat Your Persona encourages visitors to reflect on their own eating habits and discover the changes most relevant to them and their lifestyles, as well as introducing them to the wider structural changes that need to take place in the food system,” says Amanda Gore, director at The Liminal Space.
Another important part of the project is to listen carefully to the points of view of the public to better understand where they feel change needs to happen and how they feel about making a change themselves. The installation tours will be collecting thoughts and comments from people across the country and will be sharing these back with policy and decision makers in order to help inform future food policy.
“‘Meat Your Persona’ will provide our researchers with invaluable insights into how people in the UK are thinking around meat consumption and hopefully encourage individuals' to think more deeply about the impact their food choices have on our environment. This is often a difficult conversation to have, however we feel The Liminal Space has created a positive and engaging way to connect the public to our research,” says Susan Jebb, co-director of Leap.
LEAP research aims to contribute to an evidence-based discussion on the future of meat production and consumption: how frequently it should be eaten, the current understanding of responsible sources of meat; and its environmental and health impact.
The pop-up initiative on 28 May in Cardiff at St David’s Shopping Centre, and will then travel to Leeds, Newcastle, Blackpool, Glasgow to help disseminate LEAP’s research among the general public and to help shape future research in this area.
