Skip to main content

Carbon Labels Cut Environmental Impact of Dining

Person sitting at table at restaurant looking at menu

Andrea Piacquadio/Pexels.com

Making changes while shopping at supermarkets, restaurants and with delivery apps can change minds about sustainable options and garner public support. Psychologist Ann-Katrin Betz and her colleagues at Germany’s University of Würzburg studied the design of restaurant menus and tested how adding carbon labels indicating the greenhouse gas emissions per dish and changing the most prominent menu items to foods with a lower impact on the climate affected the choices people might make when dining out.

When people were given menus with the low-emission option as the default, the share of high-emission choices decreased by an average of 31.7 percent. When given menus with carbon labels, the emissions associated with their dish choices averaged 13.5 percent lower per dish. Combining carbon labels with prominent placing for low-emission options appears to have the greatest effect.

Other strategies might include increasing the availability of plant-based options; making them more prominent elsewhere (the meat aisle); and renaming veggie options to make them sound more appealing (slow-roasted, butternut squash and seasonal vegetable lasagna versus vegetarian lasagna). Multiple practices are needed to persuade people to adopt sustainable diets, so all of these methods are just the beginning of a shift away from high-emission food by overcoming unconscious barriers.

In-Print National Content Global Brief Global and Health Briefs Conscious Consumption September 2022

 

 

Upcoming Events Near You
The Tick Tackler Tutor: Three Impactful Tick Remediation Strategies for the Homeowner

By Jennifer Meisenbacher

Did you know most tick bites occur in and around the home—and that ticks spend more than 95% of their life off a host?

With more than 19 years of field experience, Tick Tackler offers a practical, easy-to-follow approach that empowers homeowners to significantly reduce tick activity on their properties. From gardening and yard work to children’s play areas, this guide outlines essential adjustments to help protect your outdoor spaces from ticks.

The Tick Tackler Tutor introduces three impactful strategies designed to identify high-risk areas and minimize exposure. These methods are versatile and adaptable—whether you’re a homeowner, pet owner, beekeeper, or managing a larger property such as a doggy daycare or horse farm.

Inside, readers will discover how education leads to confidence, how small changes can yield visible results, and how breaking tick control into manageable steps restores a sense of control. The book simplifies complex concepts into three core strategies, guiding readers in creating a personalized plan to reduce tick activity effectively.

For those eager to reclaim their yards but unsure where to begin, this guide delivers clear, actionable solutions. Transform your outdoor environment into a safer, more enjoyable space for family, pets, and everyday living.

Available now on Amazon.

Follow Us On Facebook