Menu Tweaks Encourage Climate-Friendly Food Choices

Rapid Summary

• A study at the University of Bristol trialed a method to nudge people into choosing climate-amiable adn healthier food by tweaking meal options without altering recipes.
• Changes in menu offerings reduced the food carbon footprint by 30% and saturated fat content by 6%.
• The approach involved reorganizing which dishes were served together, influencing diners’ choices strategically.
• Researchers analyzed menus at NHS hospitals in the UK, estimating similar reductions in carbon footprint (up to 29%) and saturated fat content (up to 32%) for hospital meals.
• This strategy is part of the SNEAK project, which takes a “nudging” approach to influence sustainable decisions stealthily while complementing other initiatives promoting conscious choices.
• The team aims to develop an interface for catering providers to optimize menus based on specific environments.

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