Leafleting Outreach Study (Fall 2013)
This study examined whether leafleting about farmed animal suffering influenced dietary choice. Students walking between classes on college campuses received a farmed animal leaflet or a (control) leaflet. Two months later, students at the same location were surveyed about dietary habits, then asked whether they had received one of the leaflets. Analysis was impacted by an unexpectedly small control group, other leaflet distributions on some campuses, and reports by some respondents that they had received a fictional leaflet. The authors conclude that leaflets may cause a small number of recipients to stop eating all meat or a specific type of meat, but do not cause other recipients to reduce their overall intake of meat.
[Abstract excerpted from original source.]
“With this study, we seek to partially rectify the asymmetry between our strong recommendation of leafleting as an intervention and the weak data in support of this recommendation. The primary goal of analysis will be to determine whether rates of conversion to vegetarianism and veganism during the study period are higher among subjects in the experimental group than among subjects in the control group. Depending on the final survey design, the analysis may also consider whether respondents in the experimental group have reduced their rates of meat and animal product consumption more than respondents in the control group, even among those respondents who do consume these products at the time of the survey.”