Can sports teams get fans to eat less meat?

This study examines whether fans’ awareness of their favorite sport team’s pro-environmental food initiatives is associated with greater consumption of plant-based foods. Plant-based diets can reduce greenhouse gas emissions and improve health, yet meat consumption remains deeply embedded in sport fan culture and stadium food environments. This work investigates how team identification, value internalization, and fan-team personality perceptions influence whether sport organizations can encourage more sustainable eating behaviors among fans.

Two empirical studies were conducted: a survey of 799 fans from 12 professional sport teams across several countries that had implemented plant-based food initiatives, and an experimental survey with 356 fans of the Boston Red Sox. The surveys included measures of fan awareness, team identification, attitudes toward sustainable food, personality match with the team, and self-reported plant-based food consumption. Fans who were more aware of their team’s sustainable food initiatives generally reported greater plant-based food consumption, especially when they perceived a stronger personality match with the team. However, among lowly identified fans, awareness sometimes produced negative effects because these fans perceived the team’s personality as morally “superior” to their own, which reduced the likelihood of adopting plant-based diets.

Sport managers promoting plant-based diets should tailor sustainability communication to different fan groups and emphasize shared values rather than moral superiority to avoid alienating less-identified fans.

CITE: Pape, L., Koenigstorfer, J., & Casper, J. (2024). Sport teams’ promotion of plant-based food consumption among fans. Sport Management Review, 27(1), 150-174. DOI: 10.1080/14413523.2023.2259146

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