A recent study published in the Journal of the American Medical Association found that consumers are more prone to avoid red meat when presented with climate-impact labels.
In the study, 5,049 participants were presented with a fast-food restaurant menu featuring 14 items, including meat, chicken, plant-based entrées and salads. Participants were prompted to select one food option.
The participants were divided into three groups, a menu with all items (control group), a menu with low-impact green labels, and a menu with red labels on high-climate impact labels on red meat items. The results indicated that nearly 25% of consumers with high-climate impact labels are more likely to select a sustainable menu item than the control group.
“Results from this randomized clinical trial suggest that fast food menu sustainability labels (with positive and negative framing) encouraged more sustainable food choices compared with control labels, and high–climate impact labels on menu items that had high (greenhouse gas emissions) were the most effective,” the authors of the study wrote.
