--- title: "40 Percent of American Children Think Hot Dogs Are Vegetables" description: "While children in the US are taught what to eat, many of them never actually find out where the food they eat on a daily basis actually comes from." date: "2021-11-09" modified: "2021-11-09" authors: - name: "Victor Tangermann" job_title: "Senior Editor" link: "https://futurism.com/authors/victor" url: "https://futurism.com/american-children-hot-dogs-vegetables" categories: - "Science & Energy" tags: - "children" - "diet" - "meat" - "meat industry" --- # 40 Percent of American Children Think Hot Dogs Are Vegetables ![While children in the US are taught what to eat, many of them never actually find out where the food they eat on a daily basis actually comes from.]() *\Image: Getty / Futurism\* Many children in the US appear to be extremely hazy on the details about where the food they eat on a daily basis actually comes from, especially when it comes to meat. In [shocking new research]() spotted [by *Sapien Journal*](), scientists found that children are surprisingly terrible at identifying where certain kinds of meat come from. Alarmingly, nearly 40 percent of children interviewed for the research believed that hot dogs come from plants — and more than 46 percent thought french fries were a type of animal. A shocking 41 percent were unable to correctly pinpoint that bacon comes from an animal. The root of the issue may be what is often referred to as the "meat paradox:" the fact that children are aware producing meat products entails animal suffering, while still endorsing the empathetic treatment of animals. This may be the result of parents being hesitant to teach their children where meat products come from, which is a worrying trend given that children's tastes and propensity to eat meat could eventually have significant impacts on climate change. The researchers interviewed 176 children from the US between the ages of four and seven, living in a metropolitan area in the Southeast. Given the limited sample size and specific geographic area, the researchers warn that their results may not be generalizable to "to other age groups or children growing up in other cultures or even regions of the United States." But the kids the researchers did talk to struggled significantly to identify the origin of foodstuffs and especially meats. "With respect to meats, the percent of children claiming that hamburgers, hot dogs, and bacon come from plants ranged from 36 percent to 41 percent," [the paper]() being published in an upcoming issue of the *Journal of Environmental Psychology* reads. "Even chicken nuggets, a food that has an animal in its name, were categorized as a plant-based food by more than a third of the children in our sample." "Overall, children appear to reject the idea of certain animals as food sources, which we know to be a culturally inaccurate rejection," the researchers wrote in their paper. The findings could bode badly for the future of our planet. Without sufficient knowledge about where food comes from — particularly when it comes to meat products that have a far larger carbon footprint than plant-based foods — the palates and preferences of the next generation are less likely to change for the better. But there's some hope, the researchers say. "Leveraging their moral authority, youth climate activists are gaining both media attention as well as the support of adults," the paper reads, referring to climate activist Greta Thunberg, who is calling for climate action on a huge scale. In other words, we still have a chance to make an impact. "Although they do not yet vote or hold positions of leadership, they do possess attitudes and biases that support environmentally-responsible behaviors," the researchers conclude. "Childhood may therefore represent a unique opportunity during which to establish lifelong habits that help to mitigate climate change." **READ MORE:** [More than a third of children in the US don’t know how meat gets to the table]() \[*Sapien Journal*\] **More on meat:** *[California Factory Producing 50,000 Lbs of Lab Grown Meat Per Year]()* ## Author I've been at Futurism since 2017, where my role has evolved to encompass design, writing, and increasingly editing. I've always been fascinated by space exploration and advanced transportation, which I've leaned into by interviewing luminaries in those fields while closely following the dimensions of policy and regulation that allow next-generation projects to succeed -- or, sometimes, to fail. I'm also keenly interested in the effects of generative AI on society, policies, and democratic institutions, as well as clean energy, physics and biology, and the vagaries of tech leadership. My work for Futurism has been cited by publications including Ars Technica, Gizmodo, PC Magazine, Jalopnik, Fox News, and the New York Post. I spent my childhood living in locations including Manila, the Philippines, and Geneva, Switzerland, attended McGill University, and now live in Toronto, Canada. Before Futurism I worked at AskMen and a small photography studio. In my free time, I'm an avid gardener, foodie, and craft beer lover, as well as a maker of artisanal hot pepper sauces. I have a magnificent dog named Freida. ### Author social links [Bluesky]()