Reaction to a low-carbon footprint food logo and other sustainable diet promotions in a UK University’s Student Union ‘Living Lab’
Keywords:
Choice experiment, sustainable food, consumer behaviour, food labelling,, GHGE, sustainable consumption, Traffic Light
Abstract
Purpose: Public sector catering outlets have been proposed as ideal places to try new sustainable food choice interventions. We report on promotions conducted as part of a “Living Lab” at the University of Sheffield Students Union during 2019.Methodology: Activities include 1) a survey of dietary habits, attitudes and knowledge of staff and students (n=643). 2) A low environmental impact indicator logo was created and implemented in different ways across four food outlets in the Students Union (some outlets also provided information in dining areas). 3) Sales data (intervention period and the same period in the previous year) were analysed. 4) On the day of the global Climate Strikes (20th September 2019), a food outlet introduced additional one-day-only promotions on low impact menu options; sales impact was assessed.Findings: An average of 39.4% of respondents recalled the low environmental impact indicator logo. There was a significant increase in use of oat milk compared to 2018, but non significant changes to other low and medium impact food sales. In one outlet, high impact items had the greatest total value of sales in 2018, whereas in 2019 medium impact foods had the greatest value of sales, suggesting a positive trend towards less impactful food choices. The Climate Strike intervention saw a decrease in beef burger sales and an increase in chicken and meat-free burger sales.Originality/value: This paper covers interventions to promote sustainable food choices and their efficacy across a University with ideas for future avenues of research.
References
Attwood, S., Voorheis, P., Mercer, C., Davies, K., Vennard, D., 2020. PLAYBOOK FOR GUIDING DINERS TOWARD PLANT-RICH DISHES IN FOOD SERVICE. World Resources Institute, Washington, DC.
Bacon, L. and Krpan, D., 2018. (Not) Eating for the environment: The impact of restaurant menu design on vegetarian food choice. Appetite, 125, pp.190-200.
Camilleri, A.R., Larrick, R.P., Hossain, S. and Patino-Echeverri, D., 2019. Consumers underestimate the emissions associated with food but are aided by labels. Nature Climate Change, 9(1), p.53.
Campbell-Arvai, V., Arvai, J. and Kalof, L., 2014. Motivating sustainable food choices: The role of nudges, value orientation, and information provision. Environment and Behavior, 46(4), pp.453-475.
Clune, S.J., Crossin, E., Verghese, K., 2016. Systematic review of greenhouse gas emissions for different fresh food categories. J. Clean. Prod. 140 (Part 2), 766e783.
Chen, D.M., Tucker, B., Badami, M.G., Ramankutty, N. and Rhemtulla, J.M., 2016. A multi-dimensional metric for facilitating sustainable food choices in campus cafeterias. Journal of Cleaner Production, 135, pp.1351-1362.
Curry, R., Crawley, E. and Baird, J., 2014, September. Values and decisions on sustainable food choices when eating out. In Proceedings of the Institution of Civil Engineers-Waste and Resource Management (Vol. 168, No. 2, pp. 87-98). Thomas Telford Ltd.
Dunn, K. 2010. Interviewing. In: Hay, I. (3rd ed). Qualitative Research Methods in Human Geography. Canada: Oxford University Press, Pp. 101-137.
Evans, J., Jones, R., Karvonen, A., Millard, L. and Wendler, J., 2015. Living labs and co-production: university campuses as platforms for sustainability science. Current Opinion in Environmental Sustainability, 16, pp.1-6.
Graham, F., 2018. Sheffield Students’ Union Sustainable Diets Strategy Action Plan July 2018
Graham, F., Russell, J., Holdsworth, M., Menon, M. and Barker, M., 2019. Exploring the Relationship between Environmental Impact and Nutrient Content of Sandwiches and Beverages Available in Cafés in a UK University. Sustainability, 11(11), p.3190.
Herrera, N.R., 2017. The emergence of living lab methods. In Living Labs (pp. 9-22). Springer, Cham.
Hoek, A.C., Pearson, D., James, S.W., Lawrence, M.A. and Friel, S., 2017. Healthy and environmentally sustainable food choices: Consumer responses to point-of-purchase actions. Food quality and preference, 58, pp.94-106.
van Hooijdonk, T. and Hettinga, K., 2015. Dairy in a sustainable diet: a question of balance. Nutr Rev, 73(Suppl), pp.48-54.
Kluczkovski, A.; Cook, J.; Downie, H.F.; Fletcher, A.; McLoughlin, L.; Markwick, A.; Bridle, S.L.; Reynolds, C.J.; Schmidt Rivera, X.; Martindale, W.; Frankowska, A.; M. Moraes, M.; J. Birkett, A.; Summerton, S.; Green, R.; Fennell, J.T.; Smith, P.; Ingram, J.; Langley, I.; Yates, L.; Ajagun-Brauns, J. Interacting with Members of the Public to Discuss the Impact of Food Choices on Climate Change—Experiences from Two UK Public Engagement Events. Sustainability 2020, 12, 2323.
Macdiarmid, J.I., 2012. Is a healthy diet an environmentally sustainable diet?. Proceedings of the Nutrition Society, 72(1), pp.13-20.
Makery, 2016. Makery ScenoProt overview. Makery, Helsinki, Finland. < https://www.luke.fi/scenoprot/wp-content/uploads/sites/5/2017/01/Makery-ScenoProt-WP6-results-2016.pdf >
Nuffield Council On Bioethics, 2007. Public Health: Ethical Issues. Nuffield Council On Bioethics, London.
Lipschutz, R.D., De Wit, D. and Lehmann, M., 2017. Sustainable Cities, Sustainable Universities: Re-engineering the campus of today for the world of tomorrow. In Handbook of Theory and Practice of Sustainable Development in Higher Education (pp. 3-16). Springer, Cham.
Oliveira, R.C., Fernandes, A.C., da Costa Proença, R.P., Hartwell, H., Rodrigues, V.M., Colussi, C.F. and Fiates, G.M., 2018. Menu labelling and healthy food choices: a randomised controlled trial. British Food Journal, 120(4), pp.788-803.
Reynolds, C.J., Buckley, J.D., Weinstein, P. and Boland, J., 2014. Are the dietary guidelines for meat, fat, fruit and vegetable consumption appropriate for environmental sustainability? A review of the literature. Nutrients, 6(6), pp.2251-2265.
Rust, N.A., Ridding, L., Ward, C., Clark, B., Kehoe, L., Dora, M., Whittingham, M.J., McGowan, P., Chaudhary, A., Reynolds, C.J. and Trivedy, C., 2020. How to transition to reduced-meat diets that benefit people and the planet. Science of the Total Environment, 718, p.137208.
Pulkkinen, H., Roininen, T., Katajajuuri, J.M. and Järvinen, M., 2016. Development of a Climate Choice meal concept for restaurants based on carbon footprinting. The International Journal of Life Cycle Assessment, 21(5), pp.621-630.
Schrader, U. and Thøgersen, J., 2011. Putting sustainable consumption into practice. Journal of consumer policy, 34(1), pp.3-8.
Shewmake, S., Okrent, A., Thabrew, L. and Vandenbergh, M., 2015. Predicting consumer demand responses to carbon labels. Ecological Economics, 119, pp.168-180.
Sonnenberg, L., Gelsomin, E., Levy, D.E., Riis, J., Barraclough, S. and Thorndike, A.N., 2013. A traffic light food labeling intervention increases consumer awareness of health and healthy choices at the point-of-purchase. Preventive medicine, 57(4), pp.253-257.
Vanclay, J.K., Shortiss, J., Aulsebrook, S., Gillespie, A.M., Howell, B.C., Johanni, R., Maher, M.J., Mitchell, K.M., Stewart, M.D. and Yates, J., 2011. Customer response to carbon labelling of groceries. Journal of Consumer Policy, 34(1), pp.153-160.
Wansink, B. and Love, K., 2014. Slim by design: Menu strategies for promoting high-margin, healthy foods. International Journal of Hospitality Management, 42, pp.137-143.
Yougov.co.uk. (2019). Is the future of food flexitarian? | YouGov. [online] Available at: https://yougov.co.uk/topics/resources/articles-reports/2019/03/18/future-food-flexitarian [Accessed 25 Sep. 2019].
Bacon, L. and Krpan, D., 2018. (Not) Eating for the environment: The impact of restaurant menu design on vegetarian food choice. Appetite, 125, pp.190-200.
Camilleri, A.R., Larrick, R.P., Hossain, S. and Patino-Echeverri, D., 2019. Consumers underestimate the emissions associated with food but are aided by labels. Nature Climate Change, 9(1), p.53.
Campbell-Arvai, V., Arvai, J. and Kalof, L., 2014. Motivating sustainable food choices: The role of nudges, value orientation, and information provision. Environment and Behavior, 46(4), pp.453-475.
Clune, S.J., Crossin, E., Verghese, K., 2016. Systematic review of greenhouse gas emissions for different fresh food categories. J. Clean. Prod. 140 (Part 2), 766e783.
Chen, D.M., Tucker, B., Badami, M.G., Ramankutty, N. and Rhemtulla, J.M., 2016. A multi-dimensional metric for facilitating sustainable food choices in campus cafeterias. Journal of Cleaner Production, 135, pp.1351-1362.
Curry, R., Crawley, E. and Baird, J., 2014, September. Values and decisions on sustainable food choices when eating out. In Proceedings of the Institution of Civil Engineers-Waste and Resource Management (Vol. 168, No. 2, pp. 87-98). Thomas Telford Ltd.
Dunn, K. 2010. Interviewing. In: Hay, I. (3rd ed). Qualitative Research Methods in Human Geography. Canada: Oxford University Press, Pp. 101-137.
Evans, J., Jones, R., Karvonen, A., Millard, L. and Wendler, J., 2015. Living labs and co-production: university campuses as platforms for sustainability science. Current Opinion in Environmental Sustainability, 16, pp.1-6.
Graham, F., 2018. Sheffield Students’ Union Sustainable Diets Strategy Action Plan July 2018
Graham, F., Russell, J., Holdsworth, M., Menon, M. and Barker, M., 2019. Exploring the Relationship between Environmental Impact and Nutrient Content of Sandwiches and Beverages Available in Cafés in a UK University. Sustainability, 11(11), p.3190.
Herrera, N.R., 2017. The emergence of living lab methods. In Living Labs (pp. 9-22). Springer, Cham.
Hoek, A.C., Pearson, D., James, S.W., Lawrence, M.A. and Friel, S., 2017. Healthy and environmentally sustainable food choices: Consumer responses to point-of-purchase actions. Food quality and preference, 58, pp.94-106.
van Hooijdonk, T. and Hettinga, K., 2015. Dairy in a sustainable diet: a question of balance. Nutr Rev, 73(Suppl), pp.48-54.
Kluczkovski, A.; Cook, J.; Downie, H.F.; Fletcher, A.; McLoughlin, L.; Markwick, A.; Bridle, S.L.; Reynolds, C.J.; Schmidt Rivera, X.; Martindale, W.; Frankowska, A.; M. Moraes, M.; J. Birkett, A.; Summerton, S.; Green, R.; Fennell, J.T.; Smith, P.; Ingram, J.; Langley, I.; Yates, L.; Ajagun-Brauns, J. Interacting with Members of the Public to Discuss the Impact of Food Choices on Climate Change—Experiences from Two UK Public Engagement Events. Sustainability 2020, 12, 2323.
Macdiarmid, J.I., 2012. Is a healthy diet an environmentally sustainable diet?. Proceedings of the Nutrition Society, 72(1), pp.13-20.
Makery, 2016. Makery ScenoProt overview. Makery, Helsinki, Finland. < https://www.luke.fi/scenoprot/wp-content/uploads/sites/5/2017/01/Makery-ScenoProt-WP6-results-2016.pdf >
Nuffield Council On Bioethics, 2007. Public Health: Ethical Issues. Nuffield Council On Bioethics, London.
Lipschutz, R.D., De Wit, D. and Lehmann, M., 2017. Sustainable Cities, Sustainable Universities: Re-engineering the campus of today for the world of tomorrow. In Handbook of Theory and Practice of Sustainable Development in Higher Education (pp. 3-16). Springer, Cham.
Oliveira, R.C., Fernandes, A.C., da Costa Proença, R.P., Hartwell, H., Rodrigues, V.M., Colussi, C.F. and Fiates, G.M., 2018. Menu labelling and healthy food choices: a randomised controlled trial. British Food Journal, 120(4), pp.788-803.
Reynolds, C.J., Buckley, J.D., Weinstein, P. and Boland, J., 2014. Are the dietary guidelines for meat, fat, fruit and vegetable consumption appropriate for environmental sustainability? A review of the literature. Nutrients, 6(6), pp.2251-2265.
Rust, N.A., Ridding, L., Ward, C., Clark, B., Kehoe, L., Dora, M., Whittingham, M.J., McGowan, P., Chaudhary, A., Reynolds, C.J. and Trivedy, C., 2020. How to transition to reduced-meat diets that benefit people and the planet. Science of the Total Environment, 718, p.137208.
Pulkkinen, H., Roininen, T., Katajajuuri, J.M. and Järvinen, M., 2016. Development of a Climate Choice meal concept for restaurants based on carbon footprinting. The International Journal of Life Cycle Assessment, 21(5), pp.621-630.
Schrader, U. and Thøgersen, J., 2011. Putting sustainable consumption into practice. Journal of consumer policy, 34(1), pp.3-8.
Shewmake, S., Okrent, A., Thabrew, L. and Vandenbergh, M., 2015. Predicting consumer demand responses to carbon labels. Ecological Economics, 119, pp.168-180.
Sonnenberg, L., Gelsomin, E., Levy, D.E., Riis, J., Barraclough, S. and Thorndike, A.N., 2013. A traffic light food labeling intervention increases consumer awareness of health and healthy choices at the point-of-purchase. Preventive medicine, 57(4), pp.253-257.
Vanclay, J.K., Shortiss, J., Aulsebrook, S., Gillespie, A.M., Howell, B.C., Johanni, R., Maher, M.J., Mitchell, K.M., Stewart, M.D. and Yates, J., 2011. Customer response to carbon labelling of groceries. Journal of Consumer Policy, 34(1), pp.153-160.
Wansink, B. and Love, K., 2014. Slim by design: Menu strategies for promoting high-margin, healthy foods. International Journal of Hospitality Management, 42, pp.137-143.
Yougov.co.uk. (2019). Is the future of food flexitarian? | YouGov. [online] Available at: https://yougov.co.uk/topics/resources/articles-reports/2019/03/18/future-food-flexitarian [Accessed 25 Sep. 2019].
Published
2021-02-24
How to Cite
Larner , E., Fish , A., Way, C., Muir , K., Graham , F., Armstrong , B., Patel , V., Knight , D., Jourdain , R., Allen , T., Armstrong , I., Collister , J., Barnett , O., & Reynolds, C. (2021). Reaction to a low-carbon footprint food logo and other sustainable diet promotions in a UK University’s Student Union ‘Living Lab’. Future of Food: Journal on Food, Agriculture and Society, 9(1). Retrieved from https://www.thefutureoffoodjournal.com/index.php/FOFJ/article/view/321
Section
Research Articles
