Cultural traditions such as Christmas influence the moral judgments of children about eating animals. That’s according to new research from the University of Exeter, published in Social Psychological and Personality Science, which found childhood is a pivotal period for negotiating complex values around the cultural acceptability of eating meat.
]]>Children as young as 4 were more likely to say eating an animal was OK when it was framed as Christmas dinner rather than a regular weekday meal. Kids ages 4–7 were about 20 times more likely to justify it by citing tradition and culture when it was framed as a holiday celebration. Teenagers and adults didn’t show this shift, possibly because they’ve already normalised meat-eating through daily exposure. The research suggests cultural celebrations play a key role in teaching children which animal lives are expendable
]]>Traditions and holidays, such as Christmas, help normalise meat consumption among children, indicates a scientific article published by researchers from the University of Exeter
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