Narratives for transnational mobilization? The effects of food safety narratives in four EU countries

Abstract Does narrative communication in petitions help to promote awareness and action regarding food safety issues across Europe? We present comparative experimental survey data (N = 4,400) from four European Union (EU) countries (Czech Republic, Germany, Italy, Spain) and show that participants took note of non-fictional narratives in two petition texts about two different issues (pesticides in agriculture and meat consumption). Exposure to the narrative petitions increased transportation, but mediation analysis indicated that transportation did not substantially promote willingness to sign the petition, and that food safety narratives only promoted petition signatures in one of the four countries (Germany). However, the mediating mechanism appears to hinge on self-reported EU-level efficacy, which partially promoted narrative-consistent petition signing in the Czech Republic. We discuss possible reasons for the mixed results and offer recommendations for campaigns on food safety policy.