The Impact of Restaurant Menu Eco Labels on Consumer Meal Selections: An RCT.

Abstract

Food systems account for ∼30% of the greenhouse gas emissions that contribute to climate change. Climate labels on restaurant menus may help consumers decrease their food-related climate impact and improve meal nutrition given that environmentally sustainable diets are also healthier. This study evaluated the degree to which different climate labels promoted healthier and lower climate impact food choices. This was an online RCT conducted in 2024, analyzed in 2025. A national sample of 6,221 adults benchmarked to the U.S. Census on sex, race, ethnicity, and age was analyzed. Participants were randomized to view a fast-food menu with either a control label or 1 of 4 climate label designs: (1) numeric, (2) climate grade, (3) traffic light, or (4) warning. Labels appeared alongside main menu items and were based on total supply chain greenhouse gas emission associated with each item. Participants were instructed to select a hypothetical lunch meal order. The main outcomes of this study were the selected meals' nutritional quality (measured using a modified Nutrient Profile Index score) and greenhouse gas emission in kilograms of carbon dioxide equivalent per meal. Compared with participants in the control condition (mean Nutrient Profile Index score=50.6, SE=0.28), those in the traffic light (mean Nutrient Profile Index score=51.3, SE=0.28; p=0.013) and warning (mean Nutrient Profile Index score=51.3, SE=0.28; p=0.015) label groups chose significantly healthier meals (i.e., higher Nutrient Profile Index score). All climate labels resulted in meals with significantly lower greenhouse gas emission than the control (mean greenhouse gas emission=27.5, SE=0.97). Participants in the traffic light condition selected meals with the lowest greenhouse gas emission (mean greenhouse gas emission=22.6, SE=0.97; p<0.001), followed by those in the warning (mean greenhouse gas emission=23.9, SE=0.97; p<0.001), grade (mean greenhouse gas emission=24.6, SE=0.97; p=0.004), a