Climate labels on canteen menus work:US students choose more sustainable meals

According to the results of an initiative carried out in some US canteens, climate labels on menus increase student demand for low-impact recipes.

• A US university catering provider has measured the sustainability of its menus with climate labels.
• Months after the start of the initiative, an increase in demand for low-impact recipes from students was observed.
• An English study observed that placing labels like those on cigarettes on foods would reduce meat consumption.

Tell the storyenvironmental impact of food through climate labels placed on university canteen menus get students to do more sustainable food choices.This is what emerged from the results of the initiative carried out in partnership between Chartwells Higher Education, food service provider to over 300 colleges and universities in the United States, and society HowGood, food sustainability expert with a database of over 33 thousand ingredients.

Climate labels on university canteen menus:the initiative in the United States

In May 2022, Chartwells, with the collaboration of HowGood, measured the sustainability of its menus based on eight environmental and social parameters:emissions of greenhouse gases, processing, use of water, health of the soil, land use, working conditions, biodiversity and animal welfare.This was then translated as climate labels placed on the menus of university canteens:after more than a year, the result is that students' demand for low impact recipes has increased;Furthermore, the food service provider improved its meals, making them more sustainable and scoring an increase in positive HowGood scores.

“When Chartwells approached us with the idea of ​​adding climate labels to canteen menus, we were immediately sold,” he said Julie Bannister, deputy vice-rector of auxiliary services at l'University of Pittsburgh.“Our university's goal is to achieve carbon neutrality by 2037, and this food service partner helps us achieve this goal, as well as empower our students to make the best decisions for the planet.”

"Warning" labels on food and cigarette packets, the study 

Staying on topic, a recent study published in the journal Appetite suggests that labeling on foods, similar to that which is affixed to cigarette packs, could push consumers to make different choices not only about their health, but also that of the planet.The research, conducted by academics fromDurham University, noted that warning labels that include agraphic image – similar to those warning of impotence, heart disease or lung cancer on cigarette packs – could reduce the choice of meals containing meat by 7-10 percent.

The researchers divided 1,001 meat-eating adults into four groups and showed each group images of meat, fish, vegetarian and vegan meals with a health warning label, a climate warning label, a pandemic warning label or no labels. The pandemic alerts were the most effective at dissuading participants from eating meat options, reducing their choice by 10 percent, followed by health warnings at 8.8 percent, so give it climate warnings at 7.4 percent:the researchers said the differences were not statistically significant and that participants rated the climate warnings as the most credible.