Norwegians are not going to cut their meat consumption enough even if they believe the climate impact is important, says a researcher behind a new Norwegian study.

Eating red meat is strongly supported by social norms in Norway, the researchers write in their study. Norms are written and unwritten rules that influence what we do.

But have Norwegians changed the amount of meat they eat because they have heard that red meat is bad for the climate?

It doesn’t look like it, the researchers conclude. They have found that climate norms have little effect on the consumption of red meat in Norway. Norwegians became even less concerned with this issue during the Covid-19 pandemic. The study was published in the journal Ecological Economics.

John Thøgersen from Aarhus University also participated in the study. He told Videnskab.dk about what behavioural research calls a social tipping point.

When a certain percentage of people start to behave in a different way, it is perceived as generally accepted, and the behaviour spreads faster than before, according to Videnskab.dk.

There is still a long way to go before we will see a significant change in the consumption of red meat, says Thøgersen.

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