Acceptability of policies to reduce consumption of red and processed meat: A population-based survey experiment

The role of conventional meat unnaturalness in cultured meat acceptance: A test of holistic mindset

The eventual reality of a cultured meat market is increasingly uncertain, primarily due to low consumer acceptance levels influenced by perceptions of unnaturalness towards cultured meat. Previous research has shown limited success in increasing acceptance through naturalness messages. In this research, we employ a counter-messaging strategy that highlights the unnaturalness of conventional meat and show that it is effective at increasing willingness to try cultured meat among a particular consumer segment. Across two experimental studies, we show that this counter-messaging strategy is successful at increasing willingness to try cultured meat among holistic mindset consumers-i.e., those holding beliefs to the effect that considering the whole is fundamental to understanding the parts of a phenomenon. We establish this effect by both measuring (Study 1) and priming (Study 2) analytic-holistic mindset and also establish the mechanism driving this interactive effect (Study 2): positively-valenced feelings. Our findings are informative theoretically, extending mindset and counter-messaging theory to the context of cultured meat and, practically, offering crucial pointers to stakeholders interested in the promotion of cultured meat.

Can environmental traffic light warning labels reduce meat meal selection? A randomised experimental study with UK meat consumers

An important area for tackling climate change and health improvement is reducing population meat consumption. Traffic light labelling has successfully been implemented to reduce the consumption of unhealthy foods and sugary drinks. The present research extends this work to meat selection. We tested 1,300 adult UK meat consumers (with quotas for age and gender to approximate a nationally representative sample). Participants were randomised into one of four experimental groups: (1) a red traffic light label with the text 'High Climate Impact' displayed on meat meal options only; (2) a green traffic light label with the text 'Low Climate Impact' displayed on vegetarian and vegan meal options only; (3) red/orange/green (ROG) traffic light labels displayed on relevant meals; and (4) control (no label present). Participants made meal selections within their randomised group across 20 meal trials. A beta-regression was performed to ascertain the change in primary outcome (proportion of meat meals selected across the 20 trials) across the different groups. The red-only label and ROG labels significantly reduced the proportion of meat meals selected compared to the unlabelled control group, by 9.2% and 9.8% respectively. The green-only label did not differ from control. Negatively framed traffic light labels seem to be effective at discouraging meat selection. The labels appeared to be moderately acceptable to meat eaters, who did not think the labels impacted the appeal of the products. These encouraging findings require replication in real-life settings.

Changing the availability and positioning of more vs. less environmentally sustainable products: A randomised controlled trial in an online experimental supermarket

Food purchasing behaviours are shaped by the choices available to shoppers and the way they are offered for sale. This study tested whether prominent positioning of more sustainable food items online and increasing their relative availability might reduce the environmental impact of foods selected in a 2x2 (availability x position) factorial randomised controlled trial. Participants (n = 1179) selected items in a shopping task in an experimental online supermarket. The availability intervention added lower-impact products to the regular range. The positioning intervention biased product order to give prominence to lower-impact products. The primary outcome was the environmental impact score (ranging from 1 "least impact" to 5 "most impact", of each item in shopping baskets) analysed using Welch's ANOVA. Secondary outcomes included interactions (analysed via linear regression) by gender, age group, education, income and meat consumption and we assessed intervention acceptability (using different frames) in a post-experiment questionnaire. Compared to control (mean = 21.6), mean eco quintile score was significantly reduced when availability & order was altered (-2.30; 95%CI: 3.04; -1.56) and when order only was changed (-1.67; 95%CI: 2.42; -0.92). No significant difference between availability only (-0.02; 95%CI: 0.73; 0.69) and control was found. There were no significant interactions between interventions or by demographic characteristics. Both interventions were acceptable under certain frames (positioning emphasising lower-impact products: 70.3% support; increasing lower-impact items: 74.3% support). Prominent positioning of more sustainable products may be an effective strategy to encourage more sustainable food purchasing. Increasing availability of more sustainable products alone did not significantly alter the environment impact of products selected.

The impact of the English calorie labelling policy on the energy content of food offered and purchased in worksite cafeterias: a natural experiment

BACKGROUND

On 6 April 2022, legislation came into effect in England requiring calorie labels to be applied to food items on menus of larger food businesses. This study aimed to assess the impact of calorie labelling on (a) food purchased and (b) energy content of menu options in worksite cafeterias.

METHODS

Product-level sales data and energy content of available items was obtained from 142 worksite cafeterias from January 2022-October 2022. Interrupted-time-series (ITS) analysis with level and slope change evaluated daily energy (kcal) purchased per item, and ITS with level change assessed mean energy per option available on menus before and after calorie labelling. Each analysis was conducted 6 weeks and 6 months from implementation. A post-hoc ITS examined weekly energy purchased per item over a longer period (March 2021-October 2022; 135 sites).

RESULTS

There was no evidence calorie labelling changed the energy content of foods purchased (6-week: + 0.60 cal/product, 95%CI:-2.54, + 3.75; 6-month: + 1.59 cal/product, 95%CI:-0.96, + 4.16). Post-hoc analyses suggested calorie labels were associated with a reduction in mean energy of items purchased over time (-0.65 kcal/week, 95%CI:-0.81,-0.49), but a significant increase (+ 3 kcal, 95%CI: + 0.43, + 5.60) at the point of implementation. There was a reduction in the mean energy content of menu options at each seasonal menu change (April 2022:-1.79 kcal, 95%CI:-3.42,-0.15; July 2022:-4.18 kcal, 95% CI:-7.65,-0.73).

CONCLUSION

This large observational study in worksite cafeterias found no evidence to indicate the introduction of calorie labelling led to any immediate reduction in energy purchased by customers. There was some evidence of increasing impact over time, possibly associated with changes in menu offerings, but this effect was small and cannot be directly attributed to calorie labelling.

Effects of increasing the availability of vegetarian options on main meal choices, meal offer satisfaction and liking: a pre-post analysis in a French university cafeteria

BACKGROUND

Changing the food environment is an important public health lever for encouraging sustainable food choices. Targeting the availability of vegetarian main meals served in cafeterias substantially affects food choice, but acceptability has never been assessed. We examined the effects of an availability intervention at a French university cafeteria on students' main meal choices, meal offer satisfaction and liking.

METHODS

A four-week controlled trial was conducted in a university cafeteria in Dijon, France. During the two-week control period, vegetarian main meals constituted 24% of the offer. In the subsequent two-week intervention period, this proportion increased to 48%, while all the other menu items remained unchanged. Students were not informed of the change. Student choices were tracked using production data, and daily paper ballots were used to assess student satisfaction with the meal offer and liking of the main meal they chose (score range [1;5]). Nutritional quality, environmental impact, and cost of production of meal choices were calculated for each lunchtime. Food waste was measured over 4 lunchtimes during control and intervention periods. An online questionnaire collected student feedback at the end of the study.

RESULTS

Doubling availability of vegetarian main meals significantly increased the likelihood of choosing vegetarian options (OR = 2.57, 95% CI = [2.41; 2.74]). Responses of the paper ballots (n = 18,342) indicated slight improvements in meal offer satisfaction from 4.05 ± 0.92 to 4.07 ± 0.93 (p = 0.028) and in liking from 4.09 ± 0.90 to 4.13 ± 0.92 (p < 0.001) during control and intervention periods, respectively. The end-of-study questionnaire (n = 510) revealed that only 6% of students noticed a change the availability of vegetarian main meals. The intervention led to a decrease in the environmental impact of the main meals chosen, a slight decrease in nutritional quality, a slight increase in meal costs and no change in food waste.

CONCLUSIONS

Doubling availability of vegetarian main meals in a university cafeteria resulted in a twofold increase in their selection, with students reporting being more satisfied and liking the main meals more during the intervention period. These results suggest that serving an equal proportion of vegetarian and nonvegetarian main meals could be considered in French university cafeterias to tackle environmental issues.

TRIAL REGISTRATION

Study protocol and analysis plan were pre-registered on the Open Science Framework ( https://osf.io/pf3x7/ ).

How may we effectively motivate people to reduce the consumption of meat? Results of a meta-analysis of randomized clinical trials

PURPOSE

Excessive meat consumption (MC) is associated with multiple health risks. Additionally, it can undermine environmental sustainability and affect the potential improvement of animal welfare. The aim of this study was to assess the efficacy of literacy interventions (LIs) in reducing MC.

METHODS

Studies assessing the efficacy of LIs addressing health risks, environmental sustainability and/or animal welfare in reducing MC were searched. We used random-effects meta-analysis to estimate the overall efficacy and conducted subgroup analyses to identify the most effective information contents. Additionally, meta-regression analyses investigated participants' age, LI duration, and follow-up length influence on LIs' efficacy.

RESULTS

Fourteen studies involving more than ten thousand subjects were meta-analyzed. The pooled estimate showed that LIs had a small (Hedges's g = 0.15; 95%CI: 0.06-0.25) but statistically significant effect in reducing MC. Subgroup analysis showed that the highest efficacy was achieved when subjects were alarmed about health risks (g = 0.29; 95% CI: -0.02, 0.60), compared to informing about the risks for the environment (g = 0.18; 95% CI: -0.15, 0.51) and for animal welfare (g = 0.02; 95%CI: -0.08, 0.11). The meta-regression analysis indicated that LIs had greater efficacy in younger individuals and when the intervention duration was longer. Conversely, it was suggested that efficacy improves as the length of follow-up increases.

CONCLUSIONS

Informing about health risks related to MC temporarily decreased its intake, while informing about the impact on environmental sustainability or animal welfare was ineffective. Furthermore, long-lasting LIs achieve long-term dietary change toward MC.

Factors and framing effects in support for net zero policies in the United Kingdom

Achieving ambitious carbon reduction targets requires transformative change to society, with behaviour change playing an important role. Climate change mitigation ('net zero') policies are needed to accelerate and support such behaviour change. This study examined factors and framing effects in public support for net zero policies in the United Kingdom (UK), making use of a large probability sample (ntotal = 5,665) survey conducted in August 2021. It found that net zero policies are widely supported, with only taxes on red meat and dairy products being supported by less than half of the UK public. Climate worry and perceived fairness were the strongest and most consistent predictors of policy support for net zero policies. The results further suggest that support for net zero policies can be increased by emphasising the co-benefits of the policies, in particular where they are beneficial for health. However, the framing effects were very small. In contrast, public support for net zero policies is lower when potential lifestyle and financial costs are mentioned. This suggests that perceived fairness of the distribution of costs and lifestyle implications of policies are crucial for building and maintaining support for net zero.

Strategies for reducing meat consumption within college and university settings: A systematic review and meta-analysis

Introduction

Despite the considerable public and planetary health benefits associated with reducing the amount of meat consumed in high-income countries, there is a limited empirical understanding of how these voluntary changes in food choice can be effectively facilitated across different settings. While prior reviews have given us broad insights into the varying capacities of behavior change strategies to promote meaningful reductions in meat consumption, none have compared how they perform relative to each other within a uniform dining context.

Methods

To address this gap in the literature, we synthesized the available research on university-implemented meat reduction interventions and examined the variations in the success rates and effect estimates associated with each of the three approaches identified in our systematic review.

Results

From our analyses of the 31 studies that met our criteria for inclusion (n = 31), we found that most were successful in reducing the amount of meat consumed within university settings. Moreover, independent of the number of individual strategies being used, multimodal interventions were found to be more reliable and effective in facilitating these changes in food choice than interventions targeting the choice architecture of the retail environment or conscious decision-making processes alone.

Discussion

In addition to demonstrating the overall value of behavior change initiatives in advancing more sustainable dining practices on college and university campuses, this study lends further insights into the merits and mechanics underlying strategically integrated approaches to dietary change. Further investigations exploring the persistence and generalizability of these effects and intervention design principles are needed.

Systematic review registration

https://doi.org/10.17605/OSF.IO/DXQ5V, identifier: 10.17605/OSF.IO/DXQ5V.

Low-cost climate-change informational intervention reduces meat consumption among students for 3 years

Evidence on the impact of information campaigns on meat consumption patterns is limited. Here, using a dataset of more than 100,000 meal selections over 3 years, we examine the long-term effects of an informational intervention designed to increase awareness about the role of meat consumption in climate change. Students randomized to the treatment group reduced their meat consumption by 5.6 percentage points with no signs of reversal over 3 years. Calculations indicate a high return on investment even under conservative assumptions (~US$14 per metric ton CO₂eq). Our findings show that informational interventions can be cost effective and generate long-lasting shifts towards more sustainable food options.