Food Choices: Using some of the latest ideas in behavioral science, a Princeton senior studies how subtle signals during meal time can lead to more sustainable eating
by Jared Flescher
The choices that people collectively make at dinner time—more burger, or more broccoli?—will impact the future of our warming planet. That’s because red meat consumption is widely recognized as a significant driver of a range of environmental woes, from climate change to deforestation and biodiversity loss.
But what could possibly encourage a more sustainable diet in a meat-loving country like the United States? As part of her senior thesis, Princeton student Cecelia Shang ’18 decided to test whether certain behavioral science-informed “nudges” at the dining hall might prove useful.