The influence of information about nutritional quality, environmental impact and eco-efficiency of menu items on consumer perceptions and behaviors

Abstract

While food and dietary patterns are major determinants of a population’s health, our daily food choices also put pressure on the environment. In that context, providing graphical and comprehensive information is a widely used and potentially promising communication tool to promote healthier and more environmentally sustainable choices when eating out-of-home. Hence, the purpose of this study was to assess the influence of information about environmental impact and nutritional quality of meal options on consumers’ food choices, consumption and perceptions. A total of 80 men and 80 women were recruited, consisting of students and employees of Université Laval (Quebec City, Canada). Participants were randomly assigned to one of four experimental conditions, with menu information displaying: 1) greenhouse gas emissions scores, 2) nutritional quality scores, 3) eco-efficiency scores or 4) no information (control). Participants had to choose between two meals (i.e., beef burritos or chicken meal) both showing one of the above-mentioned conditions and then consume the chosen meal. Results indicated that nutritional and environmental information had an impact on meal choice. More specifically, participants exposed to such information tended to choose more frequently the meal with the most favorable score for the related condition (p-values < 0.05). However, no impact was observed on the amount of food consumed (p-values > 0.05). These findings suggest that communicating information about environmental impact and nutritional quality of menu items to consumers within institutional settings could be relevant to tackle more sustainable food choices.