What we eat can have an enormous environmental impact. An estimated 35% of greenhouse gas emissions are caused by food production. Beef is the biggest culprit with more than 4.2 billion tons of emissions. So how can the food industry stimulate alternatives? A report from the World Resources Institute gives the following tips:
- Understand that food choice is based more on gut-feeling than a rational choice
- Make healthy products sound good. ‘crispy’ and ‘juicy’ sound better than ‘vegan’ or ‘meat-free’
- Use language to evoke flavor and mouthfeel
- Ask people to join the growing movement of healthy food like ‘80% is making this change’
- Put healthy alternatives on top of the menu or interspersed but not in a separate section
- Place healthy alternatives next to the traditional product in supermarkets