IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/eee/jfpoli/v101y2021ics0306919221000762.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Is food labelling effective in reducing climate impact by encouraging the substitution of protein sources?

Author

Listed:
  • Edenbrandt, Anna Kristina
  • Lagerkvist, Carl-Johan

Abstract

This study investigates consumer willingness to substitute high-emissions meat products with lower-emissions protein products, including blends of meat and vegetables. Survey data, including a choice experiment, are combined with data on the respondents’ actual purchase behaviour. The traffic light carbon label has an effect on choice behaviour, as it increases the willingness to purchase lower-emissions protein products such as chicken and meat substitutes. We further find that the willingness to purchase these lower-emissions products is largest among individuals who are already purchasing most sustainably. We discuss policy implications from the expected impacts of carbon labels, and how such labels affect different types of consumers.

Suggested Citation

  • Edenbrandt, Anna Kristina & Lagerkvist, Carl-Johan, 2021. "Is food labelling effective in reducing climate impact by encouraging the substitution of protein sources?," Food Policy, Elsevier, vol. 101(C).
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:jfpoli:v:101:y:2021:i:c:s0306919221000762
    DOI: 10.1016/j.foodpol.2021.102097
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0306919221000762
    Download Restriction: Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1016/j.foodpol.2021.102097?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to search for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. D. Fang & R. M. Nayga & H. A. Snell & G. H. West & C. Bazzani, 2019. "Evaluating USA’s New Nutrition and Supplement Facts Label: Evidence from a Non-hypothetical Choice Experiment," Journal of Consumer Policy, Springer, vol. 42(4), pages 545-562, December.
    2. Feucht, Yvonne & Zander, Katrin, 2017. "Consumers' Willingness to Pay for Climate-Friendly Food in European Countries," International Journal on Food System Dynamics, International Center for Management, Communication, and Research, vol. 2017(1), June.
    3. Maurizio Canavari & Silvia Coderoni, 2020. "Consumer stated preferences for dairy products with carbon footprint labels in Italy," Agricultural and Food Economics, Springer;Italian Society of Agricultural Economics (SIDEA), vol. 8(1), pages 1-16, December.
    4. Bonnet, Céline & Bouamra-Mechemache, Zohra & Réquillart, Vincent & Treich, Nicolas, 2020. "Viewpoint: Regulating meat consumption to improve health, the environment and animal welfare," Food Policy, Elsevier, vol. 97(C).
    5. Elofsson, Katarina & Bengtsson, Niklas & Matsdotter, Elina & Arntyr, Johan, 2016. "The impact of climate information on milk demand: Evidence from a field experiment," Food Policy, Elsevier, vol. 58(C), pages 14-23.
    6. Van Loo, Ellen J. & Caputo, Vincenzina & Nayga, Rodolfo M. & Verbeke, Wim, 2014. "Consumers’ valuation of sustainability labels on meat," Food Policy, Elsevier, vol. 49(P1), pages 137-150.
    7. Yokessa, Maïmouna & Marette, Stéphan, 2019. "A Review of Eco-labels and their Economic Impact," International Review of Environmental and Resource Economics, now publishers, vol. 13(1-2), pages 119-163, April.
    8. Apostolidis, Chrysostomos & McLeay, Fraser, 2016. "Should we stop meating like this? Reducing meat consumption through substitution," Food Policy, Elsevier, vol. 65(C), pages 74-89.
    9. Peschel, Anne & Grebitus, Carola & Steiner, Bodo & Veeman, Michele, 2016. "How does consumer knowledge affect environmentally sustainable choices? Evidence from a cross-country latent class analysis of food labels," MPRA Paper 69864, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    10. Feucht, Yvonne & Zander, Katrin, 2017. "Consumers' Willingness to Pay for Climate-Friendly Food in European Countries," 2018 International European Forum (163rd EAAE Seminar), February 5-9, 2018, Innsbruck-Igls, Austria 276930, International European Forum on System Dynamics and Innovation in Food Networks.
    11. Anna K. Edenbrandt & Christian Gamborg & Bo Jellesmark Thorsen, 2020. "Observational learning in food choices: The effect of product familiarity and closeness of peers," Agribusiness, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 36(3), pages 482-498, June.
    12. Van Loo, Ellen J. & Caputo, Vincenzina & Lusk, Jayson L., 2020. "Consumer preferences for farm-raised meat, lab-grown meat, and plant-based meat alternatives: Does information or brand matter?," Food Policy, Elsevier, vol. 95(C).
    13. Hess, Stephane & Palma, David, 2019. "Apollo: A flexible, powerful and customisable freeware package for choice model estimation and application," Journal of choice modelling, Elsevier, vol. 32(C), pages 1-1.
    14. Lusk, Jayson L. & Roosen, Jutta & Shogren, Jason (ed.), 2011. "The Oxford Handbook of the Economics of Food Consumption and Policy," OUP Catalogue, Oxford University Press, number 9780199569441.
    15. Edenbrandt, Anna Kristina & Smed, Sinne, 2018. "Exploring the correlation between self-reported preferences and actual purchases of nutrition labeled products," Food Policy, Elsevier, vol. 77(C), pages 71-80.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Bhagyashree Katare & Hyejin Yim & Anne Byrne & H. Holly Wang & Michael Wetzstein, 2023. "Consumer willingness to pay for environmentally sustainable meat and a plant‐based meat substitute," Applied Economic Perspectives and Policy, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 45(1), pages 145-163, March.
    2. António Almeida & Joana Torres & Isilda Rodrigues, 2023. "The Impact of Meat Consumption on Human Health, the Environment and Animal Welfare: Perceptions and Knowledge of Pre-Service Teachers," Societies, MDPI, vol. 13(6), pages 1-20, June.
    3. Blemings, Benjamin & Zhang, Peilu & Neill, Clinton L., 2023. "Where is the value? The impacts of sow gestation crate laws on pork supply and consumer value perceptions," Food Policy, Elsevier, vol. 117(C).
    4. Ortega, David L. & Sun, Jiayu & Lin, Wen, 2022. "Identity labels as an instrument to reduce meat demand and encourage consumption of plant based and cultured meat alternatives in China," Food Policy, Elsevier, vol. 111(C).
    5. Coralie Hellwig & Kim Bolton & Greta Häggblom-Kronlöf & Kamran Rousta, 2022. "Aspects Affecting Food Choice in Daily Life as Well as Drivers and Barriers to Engagement with Fungi-Based Food—A Qualitative Perspective," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(1), pages 1-25, December.
    6. Daniele Asioli & Marija Banovic & Ada Maria Barone & Simona Grasso & Rodolfo M. Nayga, 2023. "European consumers' valuation for hybrid meat: Does information matter?," Applied Economic Perspectives and Policy, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 45(1), pages 44-62, March.
    7. Bazoche, Pascale & Guinet, Nicolas & Poret, Sylvaine & Teyssier, Sabrina, 2023. "Does the provision of information increase the substitution of animal proteins with plant-based proteins? An experimental investigation into consumer choices," Food Policy, Elsevier, vol. 116(C).
    8. Carlsson, Fredrik & Kataria, Mitesh & Lampi, Elina, 2021. "Sustainable food: can food labels make consumers switch to meat substitutes?," Working Papers in Economics 816, University of Gothenburg, Department of Economics.
    9. Carlsson, Fredrik & Kataria, Mitesh & Lampi, Elina, 2022. "Sustainable food: Can information from food labels make consumers switch to meat substitutes?," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 201(C).
    10. Xu, Yalin & Zhang, Zhiwen & Ren, Yanjun & Yuan, Rong & Wang, Yanan & Li, Rui & Zhao, Shunan & Qiu, Lu, 2024. "Can carbon labels shift consumers towards sustainable food? Evidence from Chinese consumers," EconStor Open Access Articles and Book Chapters, ZBW - Leibniz Information Centre for Economics, vol. 8, pages 1-13.
    11. Dominic Lemken & Daniele Asioli & Frederick Schoppa, 2024. "Attention to carbon footprints in food choices and the crowding out effect of attention‐leading nudges," Business Strategy and the Environment, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 33(8), pages 8493-8507, December.
    12. Martin C. Parlasca & Matin Qaim, 2022. "Meat Consumption and Sustainability," Annual Review of Resource Economics, Annual Reviews, vol. 14(1), pages 17-41, October.
    13. Edenbrandt, Anna Kristina & Lagerkvist, Carl-Johan, 2024. "Can gene-editing accelerate the protein shift? Consumer acceptance of an upcycled meat-substitute," Food Policy, Elsevier, vol. 126(C).
    14. Ang, Ming Yang Avon & Pontes, Nicolas & France, Cassandra, 2024. "Unsustainable burgers? Deploying carbon footprint labels to enhance sustainability perceptions of animal-based food products," Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, Elsevier, vol. 76(C).
    15. Sheng, Jiping & Su, Wenfan & Li, Songhan, 2021. "Studies on Chinese consumers' willingness to pay for plant-based milk and its influencing factors based on CVM," 2021 ASAE 10th International Conference (Virtual), January 11-13, Beijing, China 329422, Asian Society of Agricultural Economists (ASAE).
    16. Anika Trebbin & Katrin Geburt, 2024. "Carbon and Environmental Labelling of Food Products: Insights into the Data on Display," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 16(24), pages 1-28, December.
    17. Schulze, Christoph & Matzdorf, Bettina & Rommel, Jens & Czajkowski, Mikołaj & García-Llorente, Marina & Gutiérrez-Briceño, Inés & Larsson, Lina & Zagórska, Katarzyna & Zawadzki, Wojciech, 2024. "Between farms and forks: Food industry perspectives on the future of EU food labelling," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 217(C).
    18. Casati, Mirta & Soregaroli, Claudio & Rommel, Jens & Luzzani, Gloria & Stranieri, Stefanella, 2023. "Please keep ordering! A natural field experiment assessing a carbon label introduction," Food Policy, Elsevier, vol. 120(C).
    19. Daniel Francisco Pais & António Cardoso Marques & José Alberto Fuinhas, 2023. "How to Promote Healthier and More Sustainable Food Choices: The Case of Portugal," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(4), pages 1-23, February.
    20. Lohmann, Paul M. & Gsottbauer, Elisabeth & Doherty, Anya & Kontoleon, Andreas, 2022. "Do carbon footprint labels promote climatarian diets? Evidence from a large-scale field experiment," Journal of Environmental Economics and Management, Elsevier, vol. 114(C).

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Louis-Georges Soler & Alban Thomas, 2020. "Is there a win–win scenario with increased beef quality and reduced consumption?," Review of Agricultural, Food and Environmental Studies, Springer, vol. 101(1), pages 91-116, October.
    2. Bazoche, Pascale & Guinet, Nicolas & Poret, Sylvaine & Teyssier, Sabrina, 2023. "Does the provision of information increase the substitution of animal proteins with plant-based proteins? An experimental investigation into consumer choices," Food Policy, Elsevier, vol. 116(C).
    3. Ortega, David L. & Sun, Jiayu & Lin, Wen, 2022. "Identity labels as an instrument to reduce meat demand and encourage consumption of plant based and cultured meat alternatives in China," Food Policy, Elsevier, vol. 111(C).
    4. Edenbrandt, Anna Kristina & Lagerkvist, Carl Johan & Nordström, Jonas, 2021. "Interested, indifferent or active information avoiders of carbon labels: Cognitive dissonance and ascription of responsibility as motivating factors," Food Policy, Elsevier, vol. 101(C).
    5. Casati, Mirta & Stranieri, Stefanella & Rommel, Jens & Medici, Riccardo & Soregaroli, Claudio, 2022. "The impact of a carbon footprint label on food orders: A natural field experiment in a full-service restaurant," 2022 Annual Meeting, July 31-August 2, Anaheim, California 322144, Agricultural and Applied Economics Association.
    6. Van Loo, Ellen J. & Hoefkens, Christine & Verbeke, Wim, 2017. "Healthy, sustainable and plant-based eating: Perceived (mis)match and involvement-based consumer segments as targets for future policy," Food Policy, Elsevier, vol. 69(C), pages 46-57.
    7. Paul Fesenfeld, Lukas & Maier, Maiken & Brazzola, Nicoletta & Stolz, Niklas & Sun, Yixian & Kachi, Aya, 2023. "How information, social norms, and experience with novel meat substitutes can create positive political feedback and demand-side policy change," Food Policy, Elsevier, vol. 117(C).
    8. Kliem, Lea & Sagebiel, Julian, 2023. "Consumers' preferences for commons-based and open-source produce: A discrete choice experiment with directional information manipulations," Food Policy, Elsevier, vol. 119(C).
    9. Altmann, Brianne A. & Anders, Sven & Risius, Antje & Mörlein, Daniel, 2022. "Information effects on consumer preferences for alternative animal feedstuffs," Food Policy, Elsevier, vol. 106(C).
    10. Vo Hong Tu & Steven W. Kopp & Nguyen Thuy Trang & Andreas Kontoleon & Mitsuyasu Yabe, 2021. "UK Consumers’ Preferences for Ethical Attributes of Floating Rice: Implications for Environmentally Friendly Agriculture in Vietnam," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(15), pages 1-27, July.
    11. Alexander J. Stein & Marcelo Lima, 2022. "Sustainable food labelling: considerations for policy-makers," Review of Agricultural, Food and Environmental Studies, Springer, vol. 103(2), pages 143-160, June.
    12. Soregaroli, Claudio & Ricci, Elena Claire & Stranieri, Stefanella & Nayga, Rodolfo M. & Capri, Ettore & Castellari, Elena, 2021. "Carbon footprint information, prices, and restaurant wine choices by customers: A natural field experiment," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 186(C).
    13. Matthias Staudigel & Aleksej Trubnikov, 2022. "High price premiums as barriers to organic meat demand? A hedonic analysis considering species, cut and retail outlet," Australian Journal of Agricultural and Resource Economics, Australian Agricultural and Resource Economics Society, vol. 66(2), pages 309-334, April.
    14. Yokessa, Maïmouna & Marette, Stéphan, 2019. "A Review of Eco-labels and their Economic Impact," International Review of Environmental and Resource Economics, now publishers, vol. 13(1-2), pages 119-163, April.
    15. Carlsson, Fredrik & Kataria, Mitesh & Lampi, Elina, 2022. "How much does it take? Willingness to switch to meat substitutes," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 193(C).
    16. Rui Zhao & Dingye Wu & Sebastiano Patti, 2020. "A Bibliometric Analysis of Carbon Labeling Schemes in the Period 2007–2019," Energies, MDPI, vol. 13(16), pages 1-16, August.
    17. Edenbrandt, Anna Kristina & Lagerkvist, Carl-Johan, 2024. "Can gene-editing accelerate the protein shift? Consumer acceptance of an upcycled meat-substitute," Food Policy, Elsevier, vol. 126(C).
    18. Migena Proi & Emilia Cubero Dudinskaya & Simona Naspetti & Emel Ozturk & Raffaele Zanoli, 2023. "The Role of Eco-Labels in Making Environmentally Friendly Choices: An Eye-Tracking Study on Aquaculture Products with Italian Consumers," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(5), pages 1-15, March.
    19. Marescotti, Maria Elena & Caputo, Vincenzina & Demartini, Eugenio & Gaviglio, Anna, 2020. "Consumer preferences for wild game cured meat label: do attitudes towards animal welfare matter?," International Food and Agribusiness Management Review, International Food and Agribusiness Management Association, vol. 23(4), June.
    20. Alfredo J. Escribano & Maria Belen Peña & Carlos Díaz-Caro & Ahmed Elghannam & Eva Crespo-Cebada & Francisco J. Mesías, 2021. "Stated Preferences for Plant-Based and Cultured Meat: A Choice Experiment Study of Spanish Consumers," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(15), pages 1-21, July.

    More about this item

    Keywords

    Carbon label; Climate label; Choice analysis; Stated preferences; Purchase behaviour;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • Q18 - Agricultural and Natural Resource Economics; Environmental and Ecological Economics - - Agriculture - - - Agricultural Policy; Food Policy; Animal Welfare Policy
    • Q54 - Agricultural and Natural Resource Economics; Environmental and Ecological Economics - - Environmental Economics - - - Climate; Natural Disasters and their Management; Global Warming
    • D12 - Microeconomics - - Household Behavior - - - Consumer Economics: Empirical Analysis
    • D83 - Microeconomics - - Information, Knowledge, and Uncertainty - - - Search; Learning; Information and Knowledge; Communication; Belief; Unawareness

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:eee:jfpoli:v:101:y:2021:i:c:s0306919221000762. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Catherine Liu (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.elsevier.com/locate/foodpol .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.