New research has found that eco-labels on menus drive diners to make more sustainable choices

An unprecedented study shows that adding an environmental rating to a menu makes diners make choices more environmentally friendly
.

The study, led by the University of Bristol, found that setting eco-friendly traffic light ratings next to dishes on the menu can significantly increase the likelihood that diners will
choose more sustainable food.

Lead author Katie De-Lloyd, an assistant researcher in psychological science, said: "Adding traffic light ecolabels to menus can add more sustainable food options
.
" In addition, it was somewhat surprising that participants had a positive attitude towards eco-labeling, with a whopping 90% of participants supporting the idea
.

"Before replicating in the real world, our findings suggest that future policies could include mandatory ecolabelling, like the healthy traffic light system, on food, as a way
to promote a more sustainable diet.
"

The researchers asked participants whether they would order beef, chicken, or vegan-filled burritos
.
Each burrito comes with a traffic light-style sustainability ranking, and the vegetarian option is green, indicating that it is the most sustainable
.

The results showed that among the 1,399 adult participants, the proportion of vegetarians increased by 5% if eco-labels were included, and the proportion of vegetarians or chicken increased by 17%, which was the second most sustainable option
.

Katie added: "Ecolabels are especially effective
for those who are already motivated to act sustainably.
This suggests that such labels help people make dietary decisions
that align with their personal values.
”

Eating meat and dairy products has a variety of adverse effects on the environment, mainly due to the release of large amounts of the harmful greenhouse gas methane
into the atmosphere by cows, pigs and other farm animals.

More trees are being cut down, converting land to crops, as about a third of the world's food is used to feed animals
fed for human consumption.
Overall, studies show that being vegetarian can cut the carbon you emit from your food by half, and being vegetarian can further reduce carbon emissions
.

The researchers wondered whether raising awareness of the effects of different dishes would influence consumers to choose more sustainable choices, supporting social ideals
.

They made mockups of three takeout app menus, each showing three tortilla options and different accompanying information
.

All menus have photos of each food, calorie content, fair trade logos, spice indicators and prices, all options are the same
.

But one of the models also carries the function of "social push," a metric
that encourages people to act on the most sustainable choices.
It's like a gold star with the words "Most Popular" written next to vegan
burritos.

In another model, each tortilla was labeled with an eco-label, and the beef option had a red score of "5," indicating that it was unsustainable
.
The "3" of the chicken option is yellow, indicating that it is neither sustainable nor unsustainable, and the "1" of the vegetarian option is green, indicating sustainable
.

Participants were randomly shown one of three menu models and asked to choose a type of tortilla, just as they would normally order
.
They were also asked follow-up questions
designed to measure their level of motivation to act sustainably.

The findings, published in the journal Behavioral Public Policy, found that one-third of participants chose beef burritos
in a "control" menu without social impetus or ecolabels.
However, among those who ate the "socially pushed" menu, the percentage dropped to 29%, and among those who ate the "ecolabel" menu, it dropped to 16%.

The results of the study showed that only 9% of people would order vegetarian burritos if they were given a control menu, but this rose to 13% if they were given social labels, and 14%
if they were given ecolabels.

The University of Bristol was the first UK university to declare a climate emergency and the first to
commit to implementing a Climate Action Plan (CAP) across all schools.

This school year, the student canteen introduced eco-labels to menus to allow students to make smarter, more sustainable decisions
when choosing food.

The students also helped the university's School of Psychological Science conduct an experiment to monitor which sandwiches, each with details of its carbon footprint, sell best
.

Co-author Dr Olivia Maynard, from the University of Bristol, said: "In 2020, the UK Committee on Climate Change argued that beef consumption
must be drastically reduced if the UK is to achieve net-zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050.
While further research on eco-labels is necessary, future policies may consider mandatory eco-labels to help meet global climate change goals
.
”