Investigating meat consumption

Awareness CO2 Intervention Meat consumption

Meat consumption is one of the biggest contributors to CO2 emission. This study investigates whether a better understanding of this can make respondents reflect upon their meat consumption habits.

An explorative intervention has been conducted in a canteen, making the consumers aware of the CO2 emission from all items on the menu. Reactions and reflections were collected and it was found that respondents do not want to change eating habits and are not aware of the magnitude of which meat contributes to the global emission of CO2. Behavior may be changed if there is a rise in the level of information around the issue, if an unfavorable public sentiment develops or if there is economic incentives.

Furthermore, it was found that an objective rationale approach when communicating eating habits can be inefficient or even have the opposite effect of what is intended.