In many workplaces, the lunch break is strictly timed. Arriving at twelve o’clock, a quick glance at the menu, choose, eat, done. The pursuit of productivity trumps enjoying a meal.
For some, it is clear: it will be the currywurst—the “power bar of the skilled worker in production,” as former Chancellor Gerhard Schröder once called it. Who wouldn’t get hungry? Others, meanwhile, are now aware of the ecological and health consequences of an increased meat consumption. They are scientifically well documented and meat consumption is long-term declining, but still too high.
The Study
A new meta-analysis in the trade journal Journal of Environmental Psychology has now examined how to persuade as many people as possible to shift their eating habits to vegetarian dishes that are less harmful to the climate and health.
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The researchers at the universities of Bozen, Trier, and Ljubljana conducted 33 field experiments, i.e., in various real-world situations in canteens or restaurants, and compared them. They wanted to find out whether changes in the catering offer influence people’s selection decisions.
The theoretical basis was provided by the Nudging concept, the gentle nudge. Can a change in the decision environment—such as altered information display, structuring of the offering, or decision support—also change behavior?
To reduce meat consumption, it is particularly useful, according to this, to elevate vegetarian options to the standard or to arrange the menu accordingly. These changes reduced meat consumption on average by 54 percent (vegetarian as standard) or 29 percent (arrangement on the menu).
By contrast, renaming dishes, ecological or health labels, or moral hints in about 30 percent of cases even led to an increase in meat consumption. The authors cite the feeling of being patronized, which repeated occurrences could trigger counter-reactions.
Like a currywurst at lunch, the numbers should be treated with caution: the individual effects vary across the different analyzed studies.
What does it bring?
In recent years, eating out has become a trend, the researchers write in the study. This market is also expected to continue growing in the future. Precisely for this reason, what is eaten away from home, whether in the canteen or in the Michelin-star restaurant, is relevant from climate and health perspectives. And as we now know, it is not only the content of the menu that matters – but also how it is presented.
