Climate-friendly Food Research Articles

Prefiguring sustainable futures? Young people’s strategies to deal with conflicts about climate-friendly food choices and implications for transformative learning

Transformative learning is important for handling climate change. How to include this kind of learning in formal education is, however, still debated. This article takes a bottom-up approach by learning from young people who make climate-friendly food choices to a high degree. Interviews were performed with Swedish adolescents. By focusing on conflicts and coping the aim was to explore if there are elements of prefigurative practice (e.g. to actualize ideals about the future in the here and now) in the young people’s everyday engagement and to discuss how to utilize these to promote transformative learning. The young people experienced, for example, interpersonal, intrapersonal, and structural/practical conflicts. They coped in two overarching ways: strategies to support climate-friendly choices despite conflicts and strategies to deal with less good choices. It is argued that by critically discussing conflicts and different ways of dealing with them transformative learning can be promoted.

How Do Young People Deal with Border Tensions When Making Climate-Friendly Food Choices? On the Importance of Critical Emotional Awareness for Learning for Social Change

If we are going to be able to fight climate change in an effective way there is a need for a profound sustainability transformation of society. The question is how everyday pro-environmental behavior such as climate-friendly food choices should be looked upon in this context: as something that hides the need for structural change, or as a starting point for a profound transformation? The aim is to discuss how emotions related to conflicts encountered when trying to make everyday climate-friendly food choices in a society that is not always sustainable can be used to promote transformational learning. Interviews were performed with 15 adolescents. Emotions felt in relation to conflicts and how the youth cope were explored. The results show that the youth mainly felt individualized emotions of guilt, helplessness, and irritation and that they coped primarily by distancing themselves from emotions felt, but also sometimes in a problem-focused way and through positive reappraisal. Results are discussed in relation to theories about critical emotional awareness and prefigurative politics. It is argued that by taking account of emotional aspects related to everyday conflicts in a critical manner, issues such as justice could be brought to the surface and transformative learning could be enhanced.

Identifying Cool Food Meals: 2022 Update

Cool Food is a global initiative that aims to help food providers sell dishes with smaller climate footprints. This technical note outlines the methods used by World Resources Institute (WRI) to identify a set of Cool Food Meals on a food provider’s menu. Drawing on the calculation methods established under the Cool Food Pledge, Cool Food Meals must fall under a maximum threshold of per-meal greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions based on recipe data submitted to WRI. In addition, Cool Food Meals are subject to a nutrition safeguard to ensure they meet a minimum threshold of nutritional quality. Designation of Cool Food Meals is open to food providers that are Cool Food Pledge members, Cool Food “Heroes” who serve an especially low-GHG-emitting menu, or food providers for whom at least 20 percent of annual sales are dishes that qualify as Cool Food Meals. Publicly recognizing climate-friendly food providers, and steering consumers toward low-emitting menu options, can help accelerate the transition toward a sustainable food future.

The Influence of Climate Attitudes and Subjective and Social Norms on Supermarket Consumers' Intention Toward Climate-Friendly Food Consumption

Consumers can reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions by changing their individual diets. Moreover, several studies showed that a positive intention to make climate-friendly food choices can be found among private consumers. Accordingly, the aim of this study was to analyze the factors, which influence supermarket consumers' behavioral intentions toward climate-friendly food consumption. For the analysis data from a face-to-face in-store survey in the southern Germany was used. The study was able to verify a large positive effect of Climate Attitudes and a medium positive effect of Subjective and social Norms on consumers' behavioral intention toward climate-friendly food consumption using an extended model of the Theory of Reasoned Action and structural equation modeling to analyze the data. However, the presumed direct effect of Perceived Behavioral Competency on this issue could not be proven. Based on the results strategies for the enhancement of climate-friendly food consumption are suggested.

Food sovereignty and the integral state: Institutionalizing ecological farming

This article takes up the question of how food sovereignty, and accompanying agricultural models that will help combat climate change, may be institutionalized through policy processes. I draw on the theories of Antonio Gramsci and his successors to discuss how the interwoven nature of the state and civil society, conceptualized as the ‘integral state’, can help inform an analytical approach to food policy change. Based on research that analyzes the work of Canada’s two member organizations of La Vía Campesina, Union Paysanne and the National Farmers Union (NFU), I highlight the differences and parallels between food sovereignty struggles taking place in Quebec and those underway elsewhere in the country. I argue that although agricultural policy has the potential to be an important tool in transitioning toward a climate-friendly food system, proponents of food sovereignty would benefit from disengaging from traditional food policy advocacy efforts as these will only lead to incremental reforms. Instead, I suggest that a ‘prefigurative institutionalization’ has the potential to be transformative within and beyond the food system. The concept offers both a political strategy as well as an analytical framework for assessing movements’ efforts related to policy formation and governance.

Sociodemographic Characteristics and Dietary Choices as Determinants of Climate Change Understanding and Concern in Saudi Arabia.

Climate change poses a global threat to public health. This study investigated the understanding of, and concern over, climate change in Saudi Arabia and examined the associations with sociodemographic characteristics and dietary choices. This cross-sectional study consisted of 280 participants recruited via an online survey. Of the study participants, 45% demonstrated a sufficient understanding of climate change, and 56% were highly concerned about climate change. Male sex, medium-high monthly income, high education, and governmental employees were determinants of sufficient understanding of and great concern over climate change. Participants who exhibited a high understanding of climate change score demonstrated significantly higher consumption of vegetables (3.47 ± 0.98) and vegetable oils (3.26 ± 1.07) than participants with a low understanding score (3.31 ± 0.96 and 3.00 ± 1.01, respectively) (p ≤ 0.01). Additionally, participants with higher concern of climate change scores exhibited lower consumption of red meat (p = 0.0001), poultry (p = 0.003), margarine (p = 0.02), and soy products (p = 0.04). The study revealed a poor understanding of, but great concern over, climate change. The intake of non-climate-friendly food was typically higher than that of climate-friendly food. These findings are critical for developing strategies to enhance awareness of climate change and encourage people to consume climate-friendly food to mitigate climate change and improve public health.

Guess What …?—How Guessed Norms Nudge Climate-Friendly Food Choices in Real-Life Settings

Social norms, also called social comparison nudges, have been shown to be particularly effective in promoting healthy food choices and environmentally friendly behaviors. However, there is limited evidence on the effectiveness of these nudges for promoting sustainable and climate-friendly food choices and their potential to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and support the related SDGs. The paper reports a field experiment that tests the effectiveness of two social norms in a real-life setting based on revealed preferences. The study distinguishes between the widely researched descriptive norms and guessed norms, the latter being tested in this context for the first time. While descriptive norms communicate typical patterns of behavior (e.g., 50% of canteen visitors choose vegetarian meals), guessed norms are determined by the individual’s best guess about the norm in a specific context. The results confirm a remarkable nudging effect of guessed norms: The higher the presumed proportion of vegetarian dishes sold, the lower the probability of choosing a vegetarian dish. Surprisingly, this effect is independent of the respective norm specification (meat or vegetarian norm). The paper provides advice for policy makers about when and how to use guessed norms.

When less is more – Effects of providing simple vs. refined action-knowledge interventions to promote climate-friendly food consumption in German consumers

A crucial challenge in global climate protection involves figuring out how to promote climate-friendly (CF) food consumption in high-income countries. Improving consumers’ ability to identify CF food is a promising way to reach this goal. Previous research has shown that providing action-knowledge is an intervention technique that can effectively improve the mentioned ability if relevant preconditions are considered. The present study (further) examined such preconditions and possible refinements of this intervention technique in a representative sample of German consumers (N = 510). Participants were randomly assigned to one of two experimental groups (EG1 received simple guidelines for CF food consumption; EG2 received refined guidelines for CF food consumption) or a control group (CG) without any intervention. Altogether, the present study clearly demonstrates that simple guideline-provision is a promising and easy-to-use tool for interventions aimed at improving consumers’ ability to identify CF food in daily life.

Consumers’ contribution to a climate neutral EU: What influences the adoption of food-related mitigation options?

The main aim of this contribution is to identify factors that influence consumers’ willingness to adopt food-related options to mitigate climate change and reveal how these factors are interlinked. In-depth interviews were carried out with 32 consumers in Germany, France and the UK; the results were analysed and described in the context of Alphabet Theory. The allocation of findings from the interviews to the theoretical framework helps to identify interrelations, to provide explanations and thereby achieve to take a holistic view on the topic, without neglecting contextual information. The findings of this study indicate that a higher level of knowledge will result in more personal responsibility assumed by the consumers and will increase their willingness to adopt mitigation options. Hence, public information campaigns and education programs initiated to enhance consumers’ knowledge on climate-friendly food choices. At the same time, climate-friendly food products need to be easily available and identifiable to help consumers to act according to their attitudes.

Climate change as an existential challenge: Exploring how emerging adults cope with ambivalence concerning climate-friendly food

This article focuses on the existential aspects of global climate change. Pessimism regarding this problem seems to be particularly common in emerging adulthood (the late teens and twenties). Research also shows that many in this age group feel ambivalent about different pro-environmental behaviors and that ambivalence is a disincentive to behave in an environmentally friendly way. This article’s aim is foremost theoretical, with a focus on living with ambivalence in a more or less “unsustainable” society that simultaneously puts pressure on the individual to live in a sustainable manner. Deploying existential theories and theories about ambivalence, the article argues that we cannot avoid ambivalence because of the complexity of climate change. Therefore, we should not focus foremost on getting rid of this feeling. Instead, it is crucial to look at how young people think about and cope with their ambivalence. An earlier qualitative study indicates that there are “negative” and “positive” ways to handle ambivalence seen from a behavioral perspective. We illustrate this with data from a quantitative pilot study with university students (n=261) regarding climate-friendly food choices. The results show that ambivalence and negative thinking patterns are negatively related to climate-friendly food choices, while the variable, positive thinking patterns, is significantly positively associated with and is the most potent predictor of these food choices. Furthermore, a theoretical model where ambivalence leads to negative thinking patterns, which then leads to less climatefriendly food choices, was supported in a mediation analysis. It is concluded that it is vital to discuss these thinking patterns in a critical way to promote coping strategies that can help the young face their ambivalence and be active despite it. In this regard, from a developmental psychological perspective, emergingadulthood is an ideal age period.

To trust or not to trust? Young people’s trust in climate change science and implications for climate change engagement

ABSTRACT This article discusses young people’s trust or distrust in climate change science. The aim is to show how the emotional dimension of trust in climate change science plays a role for an engagement at two levels: how young people relate to climate change at large, if they worry or deny climate change, and how young people deal with ambivalence regarding behavioral advice about, for example, climate-friendly food choices. The article ends by elaborating on the need for more research about what role trust/distrust in climate change science plays in young people’s everyday climate engagement, meaning-making, and identity development.

Diet Impacts on Climate and Health: New Zealand's Experience.

Diet Impacts on Climate and Health: New Zealand's Experience.

Behavioral effects of guideline-provision on climate-friendly food choices – A psychological perspective

Greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions resulting from global food production are responsible for approximately 25–30% of all global GHG emissions and hence contribute to global climate change (Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, 2019). Promoting climate friendly (CF) food consumption can be an effective way to counter this problematic development. Aside from their individual motivation to do so, consumers’ ability to identify CF food represents the fundamental basis for their actual CF food consumption. Initial empirical findings suggest that this ability can be promoted by the provision of simple guidelines (i.e., appropriate action knowledge for CF food consumption). The main objective of the present study was to evaluate the effectiveness of such guideline-provision in promoting the consumers’ ability to identify CF food and to identify relevant preconditions for its effectiveness from a psychological perspective.Two samples of private consumers were examined by means of an online survey – consumers from Switzerland (N = 150) and from Germany (N = 229). In both samples, participants were randomly assigned to the experimental group (EG, receiving simple guidelines for CF food consumption) and the control group (CG, without any intervention).As expected, EG-participants showed higher ability to identify CF food during a conducted food choice-experiment compared to CG-participants. However, this effect was only found when the provided simple guidelines clearly indicated one food-option to be the (more) CF one (i.e., easy food choices). Guideline-provision showed no behavioral effect in more difficult food choices.Taken together, the present study provides further empirical evidence for the effectiveness of action knowledge-provision in promoting consumers’ ability to identify CF food. Furthermore, relevant preconditions for this behavioral effect were identified.

Green Light for Climate-friendly Food Transitions? Communicating Legal Innovation Increases Consumer Support for Meat Curtailment Policies

ABSTRACT In light of increasing calls for environmental policies that reduce meat consumption and promote more plant-based diets (i.e. Meat Curtailment Policies, MCPs), this study aimed to increase knowledge on how consumers may react to these policies. Participants (N = 784) were randomly presented with a small real news piece about an actual law approval referring to a MCP, or assigned to a no-information control condition. The study measured a set of ideological and consumption variables, and support for MCPs. Participants with increased pro-environmental ideology were more positive toward MCPs, whereas participants who endorsed human supremacy beliefs, and who were more attached to meat consumption, were less supportive of MCPs. Despite these associations, reading about the law approval increased participants’ support for MCPs irrespectively of individual differences in ideology and consumption. This suggests that communicating legal innovation on the topic may be used to increase support for policies that promote more plant-based diets.

Identifying Cool Food Meals

Cool Food is a global initiative that aims to help food providers sell dishes with smaller climate footprints. This technical note outlines the methods used by World Resources Institute (WRI) to identify a set of Cool Food Meals on a food provider’s menu. Drawing on the calculation methods established under the Cool Food Pledge, Cool Food Meals must fall under a maximum threshold of per-meal greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions based on recipe data submitted to WRI. In addition, Cool Food Meals are subject to a nutrition safeguard to ensure they meet a minimum threshold of nutritional quality. Designation of Cool Food Meals is open to food providers that are Cool Food Pledge members, Cool Food “Heroes” who serve an especially low-GHG-emitting menu, or food providers for whom at least 20 percent of annual sales are dishes that qualify as Cool Food Meals. Publicly recognizing climate-friendly food providers, and steering consumers toward low-emitting menu options, can help accelerate the transition toward a sustainable food future.

Climate impact from diet in relation to background and sociodemographic characteristics in the Västerbotten Intervention Programme.

The objective of this study was to examine climate impact from diet across background and sociodemographic characteristics in a population-based cohort in northern Sweden. A cross-sectional study within the Västerbotten Intervention Programme. Dietary data from a 64-item food frequency questionnaire collected during 1996-2016 were used. Energy-adjusted greenhouse gas emissions (GHGE) for all participants, expressed as kg carbon dioxide equivalents/day and 4184 kJ (1000 kcal), were estimated using data from life cycle analyses. Differences in background and sociodemographic characteristics were examined between participants with low and high GHGE from diet, respectively. The variables evaluated were age, BMI, physical activity, marital status, level of education, smoking, and residence. Västerbotten county in northern Sweden. In total, 46 893 women and 45 766 men aged 29-65 years. Differences in GHGE from diet were found across the majority of examined variables. The strongest associations were found between GHGE from diet and age, BMI, education, and residence (all P < 0·001), with the highest GHGE from diet found among women and men who were younger, had a higher BMI, higher educational level, and lived in urban areas. This study is one of the first to examine climate impact from diet across background and sociodemographic characteristics. The results show that climate impact from diet is associated with age, BMI, residence and educational level amongst men and women in Västerbotten, Sweden. These results define potential target populations where public health interventions addressing a move towards more climate-friendly food choices and reduced climate impact from diet could be most effective.

Effectiveness of a carbon tax to promote a climate-friendly food consumption

•Tax policy scenarios have been defined according EU goals.•Taxes contribute to reduce the consumption of the food with higher footprint.•A revenue-neutral tax scenario could be a plausible policy alternative.•Taxes would mainly affect negatively households with kids or with younger heads.

Consumers' preferences for carbon labels and the underlying reasoning. A mixed methods approach in 6 European countries

Abstract The present research explores whether carbon labels are an appropriate and effective tool for increasing climate-friendly food consumption in Europe. Using a mixed methods approach which combines choice experiments and a questionnaire with qualitative face-to-face interviews, the preferences and willingness to pay for carbon labels and claimed climate-friendliness are explored in six European countries. Our results show that the presence of a carbon label increases the purchase probability and that consumers are willing to pay a price premium of up to 20% for a carbon label in all countries included in the investigation. Regarding the design of a carbon label, a combination of a horizontal scale in traffic light like colors with an absolute number of CO2-equivalents is preferred. But consumers are willing to pay higher price premiums for local products than for carbon labeled products in most study countries. They tend to subsume climate-friendliness together with local and/or organic production under the umbrella terms 'eco-friendly' and 'ethical behavior'. Since they lack knowledge and problem awareness with respect to climate-friendly consumption, consumers are frequently overstrained with respect to climate-friendly buying decisions. Consumers expect policy makers and retailers to set up appropriate structures to support climate-friendly consumption. Given this, the contribution of a carbon label to a more climate-friendly consumption might be limited without the structural support of policy makers and retailers.

Consumers' Willingness to Pay for Climate-Friendly Food in European Countries

Since food consumption contributes significantly to greenhouse gas emissions it is important field of action for consumer engagement. In this context, the present article looks into the question if carbon footprint labels are a suitable mean to foster climate-friendly food purchase behavior. By means of a mixed methods approach comprising choice experiments and qualitative face-to-face interviews European consumers’ preferences and willingness to pay for carbon footprint labels compared to other sustainability labels as well as socio-psychological barriers for climate-friendly consumption are explored. The results reveal that consumers are prepared to pay a price premium for carbon footprint labels but that label skepticism and fatigue as well as a lack in awareness about the impact of food production and consumption on climate change are major barriers for climate-friendly purchase behavior. Information provision in form of carbon footprint labels can only be one part of the solution. Political engagement and engagement by the retail are incremental for success.

Consumers’ attitudes on carbon footprint labelling. Results of the SUSDIET project

CO2-Labels sollen es Verbrauchern ermoglichen, klimafreundlich einzukaufen. Verbraucher ausern immer wieder, dass sie Interesse an solchen Kennzeichnungen haben um entsprechende Produkte zu kaufen. Obwohl es mehrere CO2-Labels in verschiedenen europaischen Landern gibt, ist ihre Marktbedeutung nach wie vor gering. Vor diesem Hintergrund untersucht die vorliegende Studie Verbraucherpraferenzen fur klimafreundliche Lebensmittel und benennt die Hindernisse bzw. Barrieren einer starkeren Nutzung dieser Kennzeichnungen in Europa. Es wurde ein Mixed-Methods-Ansatz verwendet, bei dem eine quantitative Online-Erhebung mit qualitativen Face-to-Face-Interviews kombiniert wurde. Gegenstand der Online-Erhebung waren Choice Experimente und ein Fragebogen zu Wissen und Einstellungen zum Klimawandel. Es wurden Verbraucherpraferenzen fur verschiedene CO2-Labels, fur eine CO2-Botschaft sowie fur andere Nachhaltigkeitsangaben, wie regionale Herkunft und okologische Erzeugung vergleichend untersucht. Die quantitativen Online-Erhebungen fanden in Deutschland, Frankreich, Italien, Norwegen, Spanien und Grosbritannien statt. Die qualitativen Face-to-face Interviews dienten der vertiefenden Analyse der Ergebnisse der Online Erhebungen und erfolgten exemplarisch in Deutschland, Frankreich und Grosbritannien. Die quantitative Online-Erhebung zeigt, dass die Prasenz eines CO2-Labels die Kaufwahrscheinlichkeit erhohte. In allen untersuchten Landern waren die Konsumenten bereit, mehr fur ein mit einem CO2-Label gekennzeichneten Produkt zu bezahlen. Im Vergleich zu regionaler oder okologischer Erzeugung schnitten die CO2-Label jedoch meist schlechter ab. Insgesamt wurde deutlich, dass die meisten Verbraucher keine CO2-Label kannten, obwohl sie zumindest in Frankreich und UK im Handel anzutreffen sind. Die Ergebnisse zeigen aber auch, dass das Wissen uber den Beitrag des Lebensmittelkonsums zum Klimawandel gering war. Moglichkeiten sich klimafreundlich zu verhalten waren vielfach unbekannt. Allerdings, galt der Kauf von regionalen und okologischen Produkten bei vielen als klimafreundlich. Die Bereitschaft den klimaschadlichen Konsum von Fleisch- und Milchprodukten zu reduzieren war dagegen gering - auch weil den Testpersonen die Zusammenhange nicht bekannt waren. Am Beispiel des CO2-Labellings wird aufgezeigt, welche Folgen geringes Verbraucherwissen, damit unbekannte und unsichere Zusammenhange, Misstrauen in Kennzeichnungen und Zeitpraferenz fur die Wirksamkeit einer Nachhaltigkeits-Kennzeichnung haben. Eine Veranderung des Konsumverhaltens braucht staatliche (oder privatwirtschaftliche) Regulierung und Anreizsetzung.