Great points, and thank you for the shoutout! I think increasing ratios is a good idea in large part because of the normative/universality argument. But is there some tipping point where people are like, oh that’s the vegetarian restaurant or the veg station? at which point it stops being a nudge because it comes to people’s active attention and it could change the composition of the clientele. I don’t know what that tip over point is (maybe a viable study design here?)
I'd love to see that study!! In the studies linked here, most of them didn't find adverse effects on wanting to eat at the restaurant, but I think it should be looked at further
I've been thinking about this a lot lately, like at what point to nudges become so big that everybody notices them and then we might see reactance/avoidance? on the other hand the NYC hospitals' plant-based defaults are big and obvious but no one seems to be reacting badly (https://www.canarymedia.com/articles/food-and-farms/nyc-adams-vegan-vegetarian-hospital-meals). So who knows
I'm a "go big or go home" guy with these interventions, but I definitely see where you're coming from. But I've been wanting to do more longitudinal research with plant-based nudges for a long time now -- that's one of my dream studies!
> Increasing meatless options to decrease meat consumption - a quantitative analysis of the relationship between the percentage of meatless items offered on a specials menu and meatless purchases
This is fantastic! I found much of this to be true anecdotally when I co-founded the "vegan chef challenges" in NC back in '10 and ran through '16 (they are nationwide now). To your other post, we tried to encourage restaurants not to use the word "vegan" on, say, the vegan cupcake (so it would sell), and get more creative with the titles--found the term can act as the scarlet letter. Agree that *integrating* the vegan options on menus can lead to higher uptake, rather than implying the options are akin to a kids-menu or lesser in some way. Love that you used studies/data--subscribed.
What do you think about pros vs. cons of naming menu items as vegan? I understand a con might be that people may be less likely to order it. However, I wonder if one of the pros would be that if people try ordering the vegan option - and they KNOW it is vegan - they may realize that there are vegan options they enjoy. If it is not called vegan, they might not even realize they are eating something vegan, and the might continue to think of themself as someone who does not like vegan food.
Great points, and thank you for the shoutout! I think increasing ratios is a good idea in large part because of the normative/universality argument. But is there some tipping point where people are like, oh that’s the vegetarian restaurant or the veg station? at which point it stops being a nudge because it comes to people’s active attention and it could change the composition of the clientele. I don’t know what that tip over point is (maybe a viable study design here?)
I'd love to see that study!! In the studies linked here, most of them didn't find adverse effects on wanting to eat at the restaurant, but I think it should be looked at further
I've been thinking about this a lot lately, like at what point to nudges become so big that everybody notices them and then we might see reactance/avoidance? on the other hand the NYC hospitals' plant-based defaults are big and obvious but no one seems to be reacting badly (https://www.canarymedia.com/articles/food-and-farms/nyc-adams-vegan-vegetarian-hospital-meals). So who knows
I'm a "go big or go home" guy with these interventions, but I definitely see where you're coming from. But I've been wanting to do more longitudinal research with plant-based nudges for a long time now -- that's one of my dream studies!
There's a nice new paper on this: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0950329325003386
> Increasing meatless options to decrease meat consumption - a quantitative analysis of the relationship between the percentage of meatless items offered on a specials menu and meatless purchases
Thanks for sharing it!
This is fantastic! I found much of this to be true anecdotally when I co-founded the "vegan chef challenges" in NC back in '10 and ran through '16 (they are nationwide now). To your other post, we tried to encourage restaurants not to use the word "vegan" on, say, the vegan cupcake (so it would sell), and get more creative with the titles--found the term can act as the scarlet letter. Agree that *integrating* the vegan options on menus can lead to higher uptake, rather than implying the options are akin to a kids-menu or lesser in some way. Love that you used studies/data--subscribed.
Glad you like the post and that you have found similar things in your advocacy! Thanks for the subscribe!
Yes!! Increasing the ratio helps. But also what you mentioned in an earlier article about reducing the use of vegan to name plates.
One study to add to the chart potentially, this was just published!
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0950329325003386?pes=vor&utm_source=scopus&getft_integrator=scopus
What do you think about pros vs. cons of naming menu items as vegan? I understand a con might be that people may be less likely to order it. However, I wonder if one of the pros would be that if people try ordering the vegan option - and they KNOW it is vegan - they may realize that there are vegan options they enjoy. If it is not called vegan, they might not even realize they are eating something vegan, and the might continue to think of themself as someone who does not like vegan food.
Hi Brent! You're in luck: my last post is all about that question: https://bjornjohannolafsson.substack.com/p/its-time-to-ban-the-word-vegan-on