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 Researchers examined data on 94,644 meals purchased in 2017 at three
university cafeterias. When the cafeterias doubled the proportion of
vegetarian meals available from 25% to 50%, vegetarian meal sales
rose by 41% to 79%.
"We can't be sure exactly why this effect occurs," said study leader
Emma Garnett of the University of Cambridge in the UK.
"It could be that everyone picks an option that appeals to them.
When 50% of the options are vegetarian, a student's preferred option
is simply more likely to be vegetarian," Garnett said by email.
"Or perhaps having half of the options vegetarian and half meat
signals to diners that choosing a vegetarian meal is normal, whereas
only one vegetarian option might imply that the dish is "other" or
added as an afterthought," Garnett added.
In absolute terms, the proportion of vegetarian meals sold in
cafeterias after the menu changes rose by about 8 to 15 percentage
points.
Linking sales data to diners' previous meal purchase habits showed
that people who bought the fewest number of vegetarian meals before
the menu changes were the ones who increased their consumption of
non-meat entrees the most afterward.
Total sales remained constant before and after cafeterias increased
vegetarian fare, suggesting that people did indeed replace some meat
entrees with plant-based alternatives.
Shifting people in higher income countries toward more plant-based
diets would benefit public health and the environment, Garnett and
colleagues write in PNAS.
"Eating much less meat is vital to avoid climate breakdown and there
are simple things cafeterias can do to help us," Garnett said.
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Plant-based diets are tied to a lower risk of health problems like
heart disease, diabetes, obesity and certain cancers - and pretty
much anyone can eat this way, according to the Academy of Nutrition
and Dietetics.
That's because people who adopt a plant-based diet tend to consume
more fruits and vegetables, fewer sweets and salty snacks, and
smaller amounts of fats.
Consumers who want healthier and climate-friendlier meal options can
ask cafeterias to add more vegan and vegetarian options to the menu,
replacing some meat options, Garnett advised.
"Meat needs to stop hogging the limelight and vegetarian dishes
should be landing more starring roles," Garnett said.
One limitation of the current study is that results from cafeterias
in college dormitories might be hard to replicate with older
consumers in other environments.
"College students are more open to change," said Dr. Margo Denke, a
retired professor of internal medicine at UT Southwestern Medical
Center Dallas who wasn't involved in the study.
Still, consumers can reduce their meat consumption by opting for
familiar foods minus the animal protein, Denke said by email.
"A meatless meal can be mac and cheese, a vegetarian pizza, a mixed
green salad with cheese, a cheese omelet, curried lentils and rice,"
Denke said. "It doesn't have to be (vegetarian) burgers."
SOURCE: http://bit.ly/2Wncog9 PNAS, online September 30, 2019.
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