# Education and Meat Consumption and Reduction: The Mediating Role of Climate Literacy

## TL;DR

Higher education and climate literacy are linked to reduced meat consumption, especially among young people and those with tertiary education.

## Contribution

This study identifies climate literacy as a mediator between education and meat consumption behaviors in youth and adults.

## Key findings

- Tertiary-educated youth consume less meat and intend to reduce it further, mediated by climate attitudes.
- Adults with tertiary education eat less meat, largely due to more positive climate attitudes.
- Secondary school students in vocational and general tracks report greater meat reduction intentions than professional school peers.

## Abstract

Meat consumption, a key factor in both environmental sustainability and public health, is strongly influenced by educational characteristics, with higher levels of education often associated with more sustainable dietary patterns. However, research examining the mechanisms through which education influences meat-related behaviours remains limited. This study investigates the mediating role of climate literacy in the relationship between educational characteristics and meat consumption patterns among adults and school-enrolled youth in Slovenia. We used survey data from a sample of 2990 individuals (aged 14–88) to examine how educational stage, track, and level impact meat consumption and reduction. Our focus was on climate literacy as a multidimensional construct, comprising climate knowledge, attitudes, and pro-environmental behaviour. The findings indicate that young people in the tertiary educational track tend to eat less meat, have already reduced their meat consumption in the past, and intend to further reduce it in the future, compared to secondary track students, with climate attitudes playing a mediating role in all three cases. For adults, a tertiary educational level, relative to a secondary level, was linked to lower meat consumption, an association largely explained by more positive climate attitudes. By contrast, adults with only primary education consume meat more often and are less inclined to cut back in the future. Among secondary school students, both vocational and general school groups reported greater past and intended meat reductions than their peers in professional schools. The findings underscore the importance of integrating climate literacy, especially fostering pro-climate attitudes, into educational programmes to promote sustainable dietary choices.