The world's population is growing steadily, as is the demand for protein provided by dairy products such as yoghurt and cheese. Conventional milk production has a significant environmental impact and can affect animal welfare. Consequently, consumers are increasingly turning to vegan products. However, switching away from cheese can be difficult. Although plant-based cheese alternatives exist, they often cannot compete with conventional cheese in terms of protein quality and content, taste, texture, or melting properties. This is why they are less widely accepted.
Cheese made from animal proteins without the need for cows
Precision fermentation offers a promising alternative: microorganisms produce milk proteins, resulting in authentic dairy products that are completely animal-free. But would consumers even accept foods produced in this way? First author Jana Kilimann, together with Prof. Dr Monika Hartmann, Janine Macht, and Dr Jeanette Klink-Lehmann from the Department of Agricultural and Food Market Research at the University of Bonn, investigated how open consumers in Germany are to 'animal-free Gouda' and which factors influence their willingness to buy it. Dr Klink-Lehmann and Prof. Hartmann are also members of the Transdisciplinary Research Area (TRA) ‘Sustainable Futures’ at the University of Bonn.
The researchers investigated whether participants' self-oriented beliefs concerning food safety, nutritional value and taste, or societal-oriented beliefs concerning the impact of products on climate protection, animal welfare and food security, had a greater influence on their attitudes towards the product. The team also investigated the influence of environmental awareness, trust in actors of the food sector, and scepticism about new food technologies on the results.
Cautious curiosity
The team conducted an online survey of 420 people, representative of Germany in terms of gender, age, and size of the residential area. First, participants were given an explanation of what precision-fermented, so-called 'animal-free' Gouda is, and informed that its composition and nutrient content differ from that of plant-based cheese alternatives due to the presence of animal protein. They were then asked to imagine that the animal-free Gouda would be available at their preferred grocery store the following week, and were asked to answer questions about their attitudes and purchasing behaviour on that basis.
The results show that precision fermentation is largely unknown among the general public: around two-thirds of respondents had never heard of it before. Overall, participants rated the animal-free Gouda positively, particularly in terms of animal welfare and climate protection. However, taste plays a central role for respondents when it comes to food shopping, followed by safety and nutritional value. These three factors influence attitudes towards the product much more than concerns about climate change, animal welfare or food security. These self-oriented beliefs were particularly decisive for people who are generally sceptical about new food technologies.
‘Purchase intention was slightly below the neutral mean,’ summarises Jana Kilimann. 'This indicates a certain reluctance to buy animal-free Gouda.' At the same time, respondents demonstrated moderate trust in actors of the food sector and strong environmental awareness.
Future studies should include taste tests. 'Unfortunately, we were unable to do this because animal-free Gouda is not permitted in the EU,' explains Jana Kilimann. 'However, it is well known that tastings significantly influence the perception of a product.' Furthermore, real purchasing situations should be examined to better understand how consumers react when animal-free cheese is on supermarket shelves.