Marketing food to children is a powerful industry that influences their preferences, dietary habits, and purchase requests through techniques like using animated characters. While food portrayals in media have been studied extensively, little attention has been given to how these portrayals compare between animal-based and plant-based foods in visual mass media. This study fills that gap by analyzing children’s movies to uncover how they normalize animal-based food consumption while detaching it from ethical and industrial realities.

Using framing theory, the research investigates how frequent depictions of animal-based foods present them as a natural and desirable part of children’s diets, emphasizing pleasure and nutrition over ethics and sustainability. Dietary guidelines from the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA), recommending a 25% animal-based and 75% plant-based food ratio, serve as a baseline — though the author recognizes that these guidelines are likely influenced by the animal agriculture industry. The main goal of the study is to understand how media shapes children’s views on animal-based foods by analyzing the frequency of meals featuring animal products and the underlying themes associated with them.

The author assessed 14 children’s films selected from the 100 top-grossing movies between 1999 and 2019, available on Netflix as of March 2020, focusing on portrayals of regular, presumedly healthy meals. Films that lacked food mentions or appearances or only portrayed junk food were excluded. A quantitative content analysis measured the frequency of plant-based (fruits, nuts, vegetables, cereals) and animal-based (dairy, eggs, meat) food mentions and appearances, while a qualitative textual analysis identified the themes.

Of the 68 food scenes analyzed, plant-based foods appeared or were mentioned 60 times and animal-based foods appeared or were mentioned 49 times. Each appearance or mention was treated as a single serving for comparison with USDA guidelines. A chi-square test revealed a significant over-representation of animal-based foods, which were portrayed positively nearly 50% of the time. Plant-based foods were negatively portrayed nine times (e.g., by a character pushing away vegetables with an expression of disgust), while animal-based foods were negatively portrayed only twice.

The author suggests that, since children tend to learn by watching others, the frequent depictions of animal-based food consumption by admired characters in movies may strongly influence their food preferences and eating behaviors.

The qualitative analysis revealed three key themes:

• Poverty versus wealth: Found in six of the 14 movies, this theme links plant-based foods to poverty, scarcity, and sadness, while associating animal-based foods with success and celebration. For example, in Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, the poor family eats cabbage soup, but after the father gets a new job, they celebrate with a chicken dinner. This sends the message that serving meat at meals is a sign of wealth and key to achieving prosperity and happiness.
• Eastern versus Western diets: Most apparent in two movies, this theme contrasts plant-based eating, often portrayed as part of Asian food culture, with animal-based diets associated with Western culture. In Kung Fu Panda 2, plant-based meals are portrayed positively, including soups and vegetables, while films like The Croods depict animal-based eating through scenes of hunting eggs, consuming a large scorpion, and feasting on a giant prehistoric bird. This framing reinforces the idea that consuming animal-based foods is a natural and unquestioned norm in Western culture, while positioning plant-based diets as something “others” (outside the West) eat.
• Food as a background to everyday life: In the remaining six movies, including Ralph Breaks the Internet, The Secret Life of Pets 2, Turbo, Stuart Little, The Bee Movie, and Mary Poppins Returns, food serves as an unnoticed backdrop to social interactions and emotional moments. For example, in Ralph Breaks the Internet, two characters are shown casually eating a hamburger during a conversation, but make no mention of the food. This framing normalizes meat consumption while making its origins invisible, particularly influencing young viewers who see it modeled by characters they admire.

This study acknowledges its limitation in analyzing a small sample of 14 children’s movies. Future research could expand by applying framing theory to a larger selection of films across various media platforms. Additionally, exploring other types of children’s media, such as books, toys, video games, and television shows, could provide a more comprehensive understanding of food portrayals.

This study shows that children’s movies don’t just reflect societal norms — they actively shape what we see as acceptable eating habits. By linking animal-based foods to wealth, success, and happiness, these movies encourage children to adopt these dietary patterns as they grow up, often without realizing it. At the same time, the movies present meat, dairy, and eggs in a casual way, completely removing any connection to the realities of factory farming, labor conditions, or animal suffering. This approach aligns with the goals of the meat industry, which seeks to avoid awareness of these issues to prevent backlash. Ultimately, these portrayals normalize the frequent and unquestioned consumption of animal-based foods.