Bob Yirka is a research scientist at Phys.org.
A group of researchers affiliated with multiple institutions in the U.S. have found that putting labels on fast food can change consumer buying habits. The group describes how they used a fictional restaurant to conduct an online survey to find out more about consumer food buying choices.
According to previous research, animal food production is responsible for 14.5% of all greenhouse gas emissions. Many studies show that changing to more sustainable food products such as those that are plant based would reduce emissions. Consumers are resistant to change and want to eat meat.
Almost all of the U.K.'s agricultural land is used to grow crops or pasture animals. The researchers looked at a new way to convince consumers to eat more Earth-friendly foods by putting labels next to food items that show the climate impact of choosing that food option.
Lack of knowledge is one of the reasons why consumers don't switch their food choices. They pointed out that many people don't realize that eating red meat has a higher negative impact on the planet than eating tofu.
In order to test the idea, the researchers conducted an online survey in which 5,049 people were presented with menu choices from a fictional fast food restaurant. The researchers put one of three labels next to each menu choice that said the menu choice was not sustainable, had unknown sustainable or was not sustainable at all.
The sustainable menu item was chosen by more people than the non- sustainable one. If consumers were given the information they needed to make a well-informed choice, they would be more willing to eat more green.
The Effect of Climate Change Impact Menu Labels on Fast Food Ordering Choices Among US Adults was published in the Journal of the American Medical Association. Thejama network open was published on 10/01/2019.
Journal information: JAMA Network Open
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