Course Syllabus

 

 

Course Description

The rise of cultured meat as a sustainable alternative offers a promising solution to some of the biggest challenges in global food production. Cultured meat, also known as lab-grown or cell-based meat, is produced by cultivating animal cells—like cells from pigs—in a controlled lab environment. It is biologically identical to conventional pork from the livestock industry and has been approved by the FDA since 2022.

The livestock industry is the largest emitter of greenhouse gases in food production, the largest consumer of freshwater, and a leading contributor to biodiversity loss and disruptions in nitrogen and phosphorus cycles. By transitioning from traditional livestock farming to cultured meat production—envisioned as “meat breweries”—the aim is to reduce these challenges, including the ethical concerns associated with farming and slaughterhouses.

However, addressing these challenges requires not only technological innovation but also shifts in consumer behavior. Consumers play a key role in driving change, but their decision-making is complex, influenced by moral and ethical considerations, financial priorities, and personal food preferences.

Project details:

This research project aims to explore Danish consumers' attitudes toward cultured meat as a sustainable alternative to conventional meat. Research Assistants will contribute by gathering data through interviews and analyzing it using thematic coding.

The data collected will assess:

• Danish consumers’ attitudes toward cultivated meat across diverse groups at geographical, demographic, and socioeconomic levels.
• Ethical considerations related to current meat production and cultivated meat.
• Consumers’ perceptions of healthy and sustainable animal protein sources in the case of bio innovation.
• Consumers’ sense of responsibility in addressing climate change.

The data will be compared with existing literature on sustainable transitions, food security, and climate change solutions. They will enhance our understanding of consumer attitudes toward cultured foods and provide anthropological insights into consumer sensemaking and readiness for a sustainable transition.

The project will span several semesters, with each term structured around specific tasks, ensuring you gain in-depth knowledge of the subject and develop research skills tailored to that term's objectives.

Selected relevant publications:

• Akinmeye, F., Chriki, S., Liu, C., Zhao, J., & Ghnimi, S. (2024). What factors influence consumer attitudes towards alternative proteins?. Food and Humanity, 3, 100349. 
• ATLAS.ti Scientific Software Development GmbH. (2023). ATLAS.ti Mac (version 23.2.1)
  [Qualitative data analysis software]. https://atlasti.com
• Anshelm, J., & Hultman, M. (2014). A green fatwā? Climate change as a threat to the
  masculinity of industrial modernity. NORMA: International Journal for Masculinity
  Studies, 9(2), 84–96.
• Benny, A., Pandi, K., & Upadhyay, R. (2022). Techniques, challenges and future prospects
  for cell-based meat. Food Science and Biotechnology, 31(10), 1225–1242.
  https://doi.org/10.1007/s10068-022-01136-6
• Berland, O., & Leroutier, M. (2025). The gender gap in carbon footprints: Determinants and
  implications (Working Paper 424). Grantham Research Institute, London School of
  Economics
• Bryant, C., & Dillard, C. (2019). The Impact of Framing on Acceptance of Cultured Meat.
  Frontiers in Nutrition (Lausanne), 6, 103.
• Danish Veterinary, Food, Agriculture and Fisheries Agency. (2021). The official dietary
  guidelines – good for health and climate.
  https://foedevarestyrelsen.dk/Media/638194807769097944/Danish_Official_Dietary_Gui
  delines_Good_for_Health_and_climate_2021_PRINT_ENG__webtil.pdf
• Daggett, C. (2018). Petro-masculinity: Fossil fuels and authoritarian desire. Millennium, 47(1), 25-44. 
• Edwards, R., & Holland, J. (2013). What is Qualitative Interviewing? Bloomsbury
  Academic. https://doi.org/10.5040/9781472545244
• Faccio, E., & Guiotto Nai Fovino, L. (2019). Food Neophobia or Distrust of Novelties?
  Exploring Consumers’ Attitudes toward GMOs, Insects and Cultured Meat. Applied
  Sciences, 9(20), 4440.
• Fasanelli, R., Casella, E., Foglia, S., Coppola, S., Luongo, A., Amalfi, G., & Piscitelli, A. (2025).
  Is Cultured Meat a Case of Food or Technological Neophobia? On the Usefulness of
  Studying Social Representations of Novel Foods. Applied Sciences, 15(5), 2795.
• Franceković, P., García-Torralba, L., Sakoulogeorga, E., Vučković, T., & Perez-Cueto, F. J. A.
  (2021). How Do Consumers Perceive Cultured Meat in Croatia, Greece, and Spain?
  Nutrients, 13(4), 1284. https://doi.org/10.3390/nu13041284
• Hartmann, C., & Siegrist, M. (2021). Consumers' associations, perceptions and acceptance of
  meat and plant-based meat alternatives. Food Quality and Preference, 89, 104119.
• Hamlin, R. P., McNeill, L. S., & Sim, J. (2022) Food neophobia, food choice and the details
  of cultured meat acceptance. Meat Science, 194, 108964.
  https://doi.org/10.1016/j.meatsci.2022.108964
• Hielkema, M. H., & Lund, T. B. (2021). Reducing meat consumption in meat-loving
  Denmark: Exploring willingness, behavior, barriers and drivers. Food Quality and
  Preference, 93, 104257. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.foodqual.2021.104257
• Hoek, A. C., Luning, P. A., Weijzen, P., Engels, W., Kok, F. J., & de Graaf, C. (2011).
  Replacement of meat by meat substitutes. A survey on person- and product-related
  factors in consumer acceptance. Appetite, 56(3), 662–673.
  https://doi.org/10.1016/j.appet.2011.02.001
• Hoff-Jørgensen, C., & Leer, J. (2025). Disgust, pleasure, and convenience in fast-food consumption: Perspectives from Danish middle-class parents. Appetite, 207, 107858. 
• Hult, C. (2024, August 7) Population. Region Hovedstaden.
  https://www.regionh.dk/english/about-the-capital-region/facts-about-the-region/Pag
  es/Population.aspx
• Hultman, M., & Pulé, P. (2019). Ecological masculinities: a response to the manthropocene question?. In Routledge international handbook of masculinity studies (pp. 477-487). Routledge. 
• Hyldig, A., & Faber, S. T. (2024). Mænd, maskuliniteter og klimakrise: En international
  litteraturgennemgang. Politica, 56(2), 114–132.
  https://doi.org/10.7146/politica.v56i2.147330
• Padilha, L. G. de O., Malek, L., & Umberger, W. J. (2022). Consumers’ attitudes towards lab-grown meat, conventionally raised meat and plant-based protein alternatives. Food Quality and Preference, 99, 104573. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.foodqual.2022.104573
• Perez-Cueto, F. J. A., Rini, L., Faber, I., Rasmussen, M. A., Bechtold, K.
  -B., Schouteten, J. J., & De Steur, H. (2022). How barriers towards plant-based food consumption differ
  according to dietary lifestyle. International Journal of Gastronomy and Food Science,
  29, 100587. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijgfs.2022.100587
• Siegrist, M., & Hartmann, C. (2020). Perceived naturalness, disgust, trust, and food neophobia as predictors of cultured meat acceptance in ten countries. Appetite, 155, 104814.
• Sjøgren, K. (2025, November 25). Why we cling to meat – even when we want to go greener.
  Science News.
• Treich, N. (2021). Cultured meat: promises and challenges. Environmental and Resource Economics, 79(1), 33-61 https://sciencenews.dk/en/why-we-cling-to-meat-even-when-we-want-to-go-greener
• Tuckett, A. G. (2005). Applying thematic analysis theory to practice: A researcher’s experience. Contemporary nurse, 19(1-2), 75-87.
• Wilks, M., & Rosenfeld, D., Meat and morality: Will people eat lab-grown meat? Speaking
  of Psychology, American Psychological Association (2025, April).
  https://www.apa.org/news/podcasts/speaking-of-psychology/lab-grown-meat

 

 

Research mentor

Camilla Hoff-Jørgensen holds an MA in Anthropology (2012), Lund University, a BA in Anthropology (2010), Lund University, and a BS in Nutrition and Health (2006), University College Copenhagen. She lived and worked in food studies in Japan, Thailand, and Spain. Camilla has undertaken various projects in medical anthropology and research in the anthropology of food. Most recent publication, Disgust, pleasure, and convenience in fast-food consumption: Perspectives from Danish middle-class parents. She is currently working on a research project on Green Fathering and Food Practices in Denmark.

Office hours are held after class or by appointment.

 

Learning Objectives

Roles and Responsibilities of the Research Assistant

You are expected to spend 10 hours per week on the project. The workload may vary over the semester. If you are travelling to do field research in a different location, additional time may be required.

As a research assistant, you will engage in some or all of the following:

1. Participate in weekly meetings with your research mentor at a time set collectively at the beginning of the term. During meetings, students and mentors prepare the research for the students for the coming week, and students prepare their findings for the previous week. 
2. Participate in a research orientation at the beginning of the semester 
3. Participate in two research workshops during the semester.
4. Keep a research journal and submit it in person or via email every week (or another specified interval) to your research mentor, describing the activities of the week, and outlining goals for the following week.
5. Participate in carrying out the research project. This may include: familiarizing yourself with core concepts, conducting literature searches, understanding scientific paradigms and perspectives, applying interview techniques, and analyzing data. The specific responsibilities may vary as the project progresses. Be prepared to contribute to tasks that may come up during the semester. Research processes are not always predictable.
6. Present the relevance of the research and/or findings to peers from other
disciplines at the DIS Festival.
7. Make a final oral and/or written presentation of the research you are involved in, depending on what is agreed with your research mentor.

8. Write an assessment of your own strengths and weaknesses in the research
process at the beginning of the semester. Revisit it during and at the end of the semester as part of an evaluation of your own participation in, and learning from, the research project.

Readings

The readings will be agreed upon with the Research Mentor at the beginning of the semester -
The exact content will differ depending on your background. You will receive guidance
concerning the basics of relevant concepts, study designs, methods of analysis, etc.

Approach to Teaching

Generally, the mentor will help the students visualize the work ahead so students will feel confident about the research contribution they will deliver in the end. The instructor will support independent studying, acknowledging that everybody has a perspective to contribute. Also, the instructor will endeavour to involve students in the decisions made by the research team.

That means that a lot of brainstorming and discussion on the topic, the material, the hypotheses, the process, and the findings will be incorporated in the project.

Evaluation and Grading

All research assistants are assessed on their participation, weekly status reports to the research mentor, self-evaluation, and presentations to peers from other disciplines. Additional evaluation and grading depend on the individual research project and project phase and are outlined by the research mentor. It may include literature reviews, a poster presentation for an expert panel, a working paper, etc.

Caption

Graded Assignments	% of total grade
Literature and journal review	5%
Method, coding interview	20%
Research Participation 10% comprises attendance & active participation in the research orientation, research workshops, and presentation at the DIS Festival 5% comprises creating a research material to present at the festival (poster) 10% participation in research activities throughout the semester	25 %
Final Paper	50%
TOTAL	100%

Research Orientation & Workshops

Days and times are available in the Course Summary, below.

Field Research (if applicable)

Some research projects include field research. Expenses related to fieldwork will be
covered by a DIS travel grant. The fieldwork will be planned with the research
mentor at the beginning of the semester.

Approach to Mentoring

All DIS research mentors have been trained in mentoring students but their approach to mentoring may differ. Mentoring is about engaging at a different - and often deeper - level than what is typical in the class room. However, mentoring also comes with some degree of ambiguity, which is important for you to expect. The research mentor will work closely with you throughout the semester but part of the training is also for you to use your own judgment to make assessments and decisions. As part of planning your tasks and responsibilities for the semester together, the research mentor will talk to you about her/his approach to mentoring.

Expectations of the Research Assistant

The specific expectations of the individual research assistant are agreed upon at the
beginning of the semester. In general, a research assistant is expected to take initiative, take ownership of the project and work independently. You must also be prepared for meetings and be willing to part take in relevant discussions. In cases where more research assistants are involved in the same project, you will be expected to engage in some teamwork. Carrying out a research project is not a straightforward and predictable process. This is part of what makes it exciting. It also means that communication is crucial. You are expected to take responsibility for communicating about problems or issues that arise.

Data

The project will be carried out using mixed methods (see paper on Mixed Methods in the folder "modules"). It will include data from published scientific literature and "grey" literature, e.g. reports, as well as published statistical sources such as OECD health statistics, WHO and various US sources. Also, you will carry out semi-structured interviews with key stakeholders/persons. The interviews will be subject to prior consent (according to the GDPR rules) by the interviewees and data from the interviews will be collected in the form of note-taking. Notes will be deleted after the end of the semester. Also, data from the interviews will be only be used for the purpose of this research project and only in a anonomyous form so that personal statements cannot be recognised. 

Disability and Resource Statement

Any student who has a need for accommodation based on the impact of a disability should contact Academic Support in Copenhagen (acadsupp@dis.dk) or in Stockholm (academics@disstockholm.se), depending on the project location. In order to receive accommodations, students should inform the instructor of approved DIS accommodations within the first two weeks of classes.

DIS Accommodations Statement 

Your learning experience in this class is important to me.  If you have approved academic accommodations with DIS, please make sure I receive your DIS accommodations letter within two weeks from the start of classes. If you can think of other ways I can support your learning, please don't hesitate to talk to me. If you have any further questions about your academic accommodations, contact Academic Support acadsupp@dis.dk. 

 

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