Margarine and spread company Upfield has calculated the greenhouse gas emissions its customers have prevented over the past year by choosing its plant-based products. The total is estimated at up to six million metric tonnes of CO2 equivalent.
Study: Consumers Are Significantly Less Likely to Choose Animal-Based Meals When Well-Designed Carbon Labels Are Present
A new study has investigated the impact of an improved carbon label design on food choices. It finds that consumers are significantly less likely to opt for animal-based meals when made aware of their environmental impact. Previous research has indicated that the impact of carbon labels is small; however, the labels used in these studies were sometimes quantitative only, presenting a number with little context as to whether it was high or low. The labels also failed to clarify the difference in emissions between plant-based and animal-based products. The new study addresses these limitations by introducing new “item mapping” labels, designed to link emissions to food items. The labels feature a carbon score ranging from A (low emissions) to E (high emissions), along with icons …
