sustainability Article Stated Preferences for Plant-Based and Cultured Meat: A Choice Experiment Study of Spanish Consumers Alfredo J. Escribano 1,* , Maria Belen Peña 2, Carlos Díaz-Caro 3 , Ahmed Elghannam 4 , Eva Crespo-Cebada 2 and Francisco J. Mesías 2 1 Independent Researcher, 10005 Cáceres, Spain 2 Department of Economics, University of Extremadura, 06006 Badajoz, Spain;
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[email protected] Abstract: Meat production and consumption have been claimed to have negative impacts on the environment, and even on the consumer’s health. In this sense, alternative sources of protein, mainly meat substitutes and cultured meat, have emerged due to those perceived negative effects. Our paper carries out a choice experiment to analyze the preferences of 444 Spanish consumers and their willingness to pay for plant-based and cultured meats, as compared to conventional meat. Spain was considered of interest for this study due to its significant gastronomic culture, with high-quality meat products that make a great contribution to the economy, meaning that this could be a suitable and also challenging market in which to test alternative sources of protein. The findings show that Citation: Escribano, A.J.; Peña, M.B.; consumers’ motivations and their interactions with these products are complex. Additionally, a Díaz-Caro, C.; Elghannam, A.; cluster analysis allowed us to identify three types of consumers in terms of preference for these Crespo-Cebada, E.; Mesías, F.J.