Can we prime sustainable food choices? A randomized controlled trial nested within a discrete choice experiment

Abstract

<p>To encourage more sustainable food choices, consumers should be informed about the environmental impacts of foods. Labelling schemes that reflect the characteristics of food production are important initiatives to change consumer behaviours. This study was aimed to test whether goal priming can increase the effects of an eco-friendly label relative to other sustainability claims in determining sustainable food choices. A discrete choice experiment (DCE) was conducted to measure the importance of an “eco-friendly” label versus a) other sustainability claims, b) taste preference and c) price in impacting preferences for three food categories: meat, vegetables and dairy, among 956 adult participants. To examine the effects of goal priming on the importance of an eco-friendly label, participants were randomized to either a control group or one of the three goal priming conditions: health-benefit priming (HP), environmental-benefit priming (EP), and co-benefit priming (CP), to complete the DCE. We found that EP and CP, compared with HP, had stronger effects on increasing participants' preferences for foods with eco-friendly and organic labels and reducing the importance of taste preference and price in determining food choices. Furthermore, the study found that the effects of HP, EP and CP on increasing the importance of eco-friendly labels were more promising for participants with higher self-transcendence values. This study offers important evidence to support the development of a holistic eco-labelling scheme for foods and highlights the importance of activating the goal of positive environmental impacts or co-benefits for both human and environmental health for promoting sustainable food choices<br></p>