Open Collections

What Meats the Eye : How the Description and Labeling of Vegetarian Dishes Affects Food Choice

University of British Columbia. Campus and Community Planning

The purpose of this study was to understand what factors affect meat consumption among students at the University of British Columbia (UBC), in order to reduce meat consumption on campus and reduce overall environmental impact . Does the description and labeling of vegetarian dishes affect food choice for non-vegetarians? It was hypothesized that description and labeling would affect food choice among non-vegetarians in the following ways: fewer students would select a vegetarian dish compared to a meat dish when the word “vegetarian” was used in the title; more students would select a vegetarian dish compared to a meat dish when the meat/meat alternative was placed at the end of the ingredient list; and more students would select a vegetarian option when nutritional data was provided. Two hundred and thirteen surveys were collected at UBC. Results do not demonstrate consistent patterns in the effects of ingredient order, “vegetarian” label, or the presence of nutritional information across all food options. The presence of nutritional information for the chili dish significantly increased the selection of a vegetarian compared to a non-vegetarian meal. Providing nutritional information may help to decrease meat consumption. We recommend further research into which nutritional information is most persuasive. Disclaimer: “UBC SEEDS provides students with the opportunity to share the findings of their studies, as well as their opinions, conclusions and recommendations with the UBC community. The reader should bear in mind that this is a student project/report and is not an official document of UBC. Furthermore readers should bear in mind that these reports may not reflect the current status of activities at UBC. We urge you to contact the research persons mentioned in a report or the SEEDS Coordinator about the current status of the subject matter of a project/report.”

Text

UBC Social Ecological Economic Development Studies (SEEDS) Student Report; University of British Columbia. PSYC 321

Vancouver : University of British Columbia Library

10.14288/1.0342999

Arts, Faculty of; Psychology, Department of

Unreviewed

http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/