Plant-based default nudges effectively increase the sustainability of catered meals on college campuses: Three randomized controlled trials
BackgroundLiterature suggests limiting consumption of animal products is key to reducing emissions and adverse planetary impacts. However, influencing dietary behavior to achieve planetary health targets remains a formidable problem.ObjectiveWe investigated the effect of changing the default meal op...
| Main Authors: | , , , , , , , , , , , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Frontiers Media S.A.
2022-11-01
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| Series: | Frontiers in Sustainable Food Systems |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fsufs.2022.1001157/full |
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| author | Renate D. Boronowsky Angela W. Zhang Chad Stecher Kira Presley Maya B. Mathur David A. Cleveland Emma Garnett Christopher Wharton Daniel Brown Adam Meier May Wang Ilana Braverman Jennifer A. Jay |
| author_facet | Renate D. Boronowsky Angela W. Zhang Chad Stecher Kira Presley Maya B. Mathur David A. Cleveland Emma Garnett Christopher Wharton Daniel Brown Adam Meier May Wang Ilana Braverman Jennifer A. Jay |
| author_sort | Renate D. Boronowsky |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | BackgroundLiterature suggests limiting consumption of animal products is key to reducing emissions and adverse planetary impacts. However, influencing dietary behavior to achieve planetary health targets remains a formidable problem.ObjectiveWe investigated the effect of changing the default meal option at catered events–from meat to plant-based–on participants' meal choices using three parallel-group, balanced, randomized controlled trials (RCT), and use these experimental results to project differences in plant-based default vs. meat default events on greenhouse gas emissions (GHGEs) (kg CO2 − eq), land use (m2), nitrogen (g N), and phosphorus (g P) footprint.MethodsData collection was performed at three catered events (n = 280) across two college campuses. The selected experimental sites used convenience sampling. Events consisted of a graduate orientation, sorority dinner, and academic conference. Eligibility of individual participants included being 18 years or older and an invitation to RSVP for an enrolled event. Participants were randomly assigned to one of two groups: the control group received a RSVP form that presented a meat meal as the default catering option; whereas the intervention group received a form that presented a plant-based meal as the default. The primary outcome of interest in each group was the proportion of participants who selected plant-based meals. To explore environmental impacts, we modeled the footprints of four hypothetical meals. Using these meals and RCT results, the impact (GHGE, land use, nitrogen, phosphorus) of two hypothetical 100-person events was calculated and compared.ResultsIn all, participants assigned to the plant-based default were 3.52 (95% CI: [2.44, 5.09]) times more likely to select plant-based meals than those assigned to the meat default. Using these results, a comparison of hypothetical events serving modeled meat-based and plant-based meals showed a reduction of up to 42.3% in GHGEs as well as similar reductions in land use (41.8%), nitrogen (38.9%), and phosphorus (42.7%).ConclusionResults demonstrated plant-based default menu options are effective, providing a low-effort, high-impact way to decrease consumption of animal products in catered events. These interventions can reduce planetary impact while maintaining participant choice. |
| first_indexed | 2024-04-12T10:43:47Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-8f18b64e3f0a4d089ccbbd60e4be0650 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2571-581X |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-04-12T10:43:47Z |
| publishDate | 2022-11-01 |
| publisher | Frontiers Media S.A. |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Frontiers in Sustainable Food Systems |
| spelling | doaj.art-8f18b64e3f0a4d089ccbbd60e4be06502022-12-22T03:36:31ZengFrontiers Media S.A.Frontiers in Sustainable Food Systems2571-581X2022-11-01610.3389/fsufs.2022.10011571001157Plant-based default nudges effectively increase the sustainability of catered meals on college campuses: Three randomized controlled trialsRenate D. Boronowsky0Angela W. Zhang1Chad Stecher2Kira Presley3Maya B. Mathur4David A. Cleveland5Emma Garnett6Christopher Wharton7Daniel Brown8Adam Meier9May Wang10Ilana Braverman11Jennifer A. Jay12Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, University of California, Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA, United StatesDepartment of Civil and Environmental Engineering, University of California, Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA, United StatesCollege of Health Solutions, Arizona State University, Phoenix, AZ, United StatesDepartment of Civil and Environmental Engineering, University of California, Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA, United StatesQuantitative Sciences Unit, Stanford University, Stanford, CA, United StatesEnvironmental Studies Program, University of California, Santa Barbara, Santa Barbara, CA, United StatesCambridge Institute of Sustainability Leadership, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, United KingdomCollege of Health Solutions, Arizona State University, Phoenix, AZ, United StatesHarvard Business School, Cambridge, MA, United StatesHarvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, Cambridge, MA, United StatesDepartment of Community Health Sciences, Fielding School of Public Health, University of California, Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA, United StatesBetter Food Foundation, Washington, DC, United StatesDepartment of Civil and Environmental Engineering, University of California, Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA, United StatesBackgroundLiterature suggests limiting consumption of animal products is key to reducing emissions and adverse planetary impacts. However, influencing dietary behavior to achieve planetary health targets remains a formidable problem.ObjectiveWe investigated the effect of changing the default meal option at catered events–from meat to plant-based–on participants' meal choices using three parallel-group, balanced, randomized controlled trials (RCT), and use these experimental results to project differences in plant-based default vs. meat default events on greenhouse gas emissions (GHGEs) (kg CO2 − eq), land use (m2), nitrogen (g N), and phosphorus (g P) footprint.MethodsData collection was performed at three catered events (n = 280) across two college campuses. The selected experimental sites used convenience sampling. Events consisted of a graduate orientation, sorority dinner, and academic conference. Eligibility of individual participants included being 18 years or older and an invitation to RSVP for an enrolled event. Participants were randomly assigned to one of two groups: the control group received a RSVP form that presented a meat meal as the default catering option; whereas the intervention group received a form that presented a plant-based meal as the default. The primary outcome of interest in each group was the proportion of participants who selected plant-based meals. To explore environmental impacts, we modeled the footprints of four hypothetical meals. Using these meals and RCT results, the impact (GHGE, land use, nitrogen, phosphorus) of two hypothetical 100-person events was calculated and compared.ResultsIn all, participants assigned to the plant-based default were 3.52 (95% CI: [2.44, 5.09]) times more likely to select plant-based meals than those assigned to the meat default. Using these results, a comparison of hypothetical events serving modeled meat-based and plant-based meals showed a reduction of up to 42.3% in GHGEs as well as similar reductions in land use (41.8%), nitrogen (38.9%), and phosphorus (42.7%).ConclusionResults demonstrated plant-based default menu options are effective, providing a low-effort, high-impact way to decrease consumption of animal products in catered events. These interventions can reduce planetary impact while maintaining participant choice.https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fsufs.2022.1001157/fullmeat consumptionsustainable dietdefault nudgeplanetary boundarycarbon footprintenvironmental impact |
| spellingShingle | Renate D. Boronowsky Angela W. Zhang Chad Stecher Kira Presley Maya B. Mathur David A. Cleveland Emma Garnett Christopher Wharton Daniel Brown Adam Meier May Wang Ilana Braverman Jennifer A. Jay Plant-based default nudges effectively increase the sustainability of catered meals on college campuses: Three randomized controlled trials Frontiers in Sustainable Food Systems meat consumption sustainable diet default nudge planetary boundary carbon footprint environmental impact |
| title | Plant-based default nudges effectively increase the sustainability of catered meals on college campuses: Three randomized controlled trials |
| title_full | Plant-based default nudges effectively increase the sustainability of catered meals on college campuses: Three randomized controlled trials |
| title_fullStr | Plant-based default nudges effectively increase the sustainability of catered meals on college campuses: Three randomized controlled trials |
| title_full_unstemmed | Plant-based default nudges effectively increase the sustainability of catered meals on college campuses: Three randomized controlled trials |
| title_short | Plant-based default nudges effectively increase the sustainability of catered meals on college campuses: Three randomized controlled trials |
| title_sort | plant based default nudges effectively increase the sustainability of catered meals on college campuses three randomized controlled trials |
| topic | meat consumption sustainable diet default nudge planetary boundary carbon footprint environmental impact |
| url | https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fsufs.2022.1001157/full |
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