Restaurant owners are becoming more open to serving smaller portions of meat for cost reasons, but how can you encourage customers to choose smaller portions of meat? Especially since eating too much meat can have negative effects on your health.
Researchers from the University of Bonn in Germany tried to answer this question in a rehabilitation clinic cafeteria, and they found that it is possible, when the cafeteria staff automatically served smaller portions of meat and only added more if the customer asked for it. This approach was accepted by a large number of cafeteria patrons. The results of the study were published in the journal Environment and Behavior on September 18, and were reported by EurekAlert.
What’s wrong with eating too much meat?
Meat consumption in industrialized countries is very excessive, and this increases the risk of diseases such as cardiovascular disease.
“Meat is more expensive than most side dishes,” says researcher Assistant Professor Dr. Dominik Lemken from the Institute of Food Economics and Food Resources at the University of Bonn, according to EurekAlert. Therefore, restaurants seek to reduce meat portions on their plates for cost reasons alone.
To answer the research question, “What incentives do you need to encourage customers who are used to consuming animal products to accept eating less meat and more side dishes?” a group led by Lemken conducted a study in a rehabilitation clinic cafeteria that serves about 200 meals per day. The researchers collected data on 5,966 meals selected by customers from October 2022 to May 2023, including information on whether the dishes contained meat and the amounts served. The study was conducted anonymously and unobserved by customers. The researchers also asked 125 customers how satisfied they were with their meal.
The researchers agreed on a plan with the cafeteria owners before the study began. The staff made no changes during the initial 6-week observation period in the cafeteria, and meat portions were adjusted only if customers requested it.
Then, during the second phase, the cafeteria staff changed their approach by asking customers how much meat they would like to eat, and customers were informed via a signboard that eating smaller portions of meat would help feed more people around the world.
In the third stage, smaller amounts of meat were automatically served on plates, and customers were told that they could order larger amounts if they wished, but cafeteria workers only served larger amounts upon customer request.
Targeted incentive to change desired behavior
The strategy used in the final stage is a kind of “virtual nudge,” where a nudge is used to trigger a targeted behavioral change. Shocking images on cigarette packs designed to deter smokers are a good example of a nudge. “In contrast, the nudge in our study was to automatically offer smaller portions of meat, and customers had to make a greater effort to order a larger quantity,” says researcher Ana Inés Estévez Magnasco from the Institute of Food Economics and Food Resources at the University of Bonn. Customers found it easier to accept the smaller portion of meat.
During the study, 11 different spaghetti-like meals were served with an average of one-third less meat and more of the usual side dishes. Completed questionnaires showed that this approach was largely acceptable. However, the different strategies had significantly different effects when it came to reducing meat portions.
At the start of the study—when everything else was the same—only about 10 percent of customers asked for smaller portions of meat. When asked directly, “How much meat would you like?” the percentage of people who asked for a smaller portion rose to about 39 percent. But that percentage rose to more than 90 percent with the use of nudges, which are simply serving more based on the customer’s request.