Carbon footprints on the menu: Exploring consumer choices and perceptions across real-world gastronomic settings.

Abstract

Dietary changes can contribute to mitigating the environmental impact of human nutrition. Informing consumers can encourage them to choose more sustainable foods, dishes, or dietary styles. One opportunity for information transfer is through carbon footprint data. However, the impact of carbon footprint information or labels on food choices is rarely investigated in real-world settings, and findings remain inconclusive. This study aimed to understand how the carbon footprint on menus influences customers’ actual choices in various gastronomic settings. The carbon footprint of dishes was calculated and presented in different layouts on the menus of a university canteen, various company canteens, a restaurant, and a food truck. Sales figures were compared between an intervention period featuring carbon footprint information, and a control period with the same menu offerings but without such information. Customer perceptions were assessed by a survey. In the university canteen, the average carbon footprint of all chosen dishes decreased significantly by 1.5 percent during the intervention period. However, no significant difference was observed in the other participating facilities. A visualization of the carbon footprint showed no advantage over displaying the numbers alone. The survey revealed predominantly positive perceptions of the provided information among customers but also highlighted a general lack of knowledge about the climate impact of food choices. The results suggest that the effectiveness of carbon footprint information might depend on the gastronomic setting and its population. While many customers claimed that the information influenced their choices, this cannot be confirmed based on the sales figures. Further research is needed to investigate the effectiveness of carbon footprint information in supporting consumers to make more sustainable food choices.

Topics & Concepts