Climate change menu labels in a university cafeteria: effects on student's diets, perceptions, and attitudes

Climate change is an urgent public health threat that requires robust and multi-sector action, including strategies to shift food choices toward more sustainable options. Climate change menu labels in university settings have the potential to shift food choices over the short- and long-term. In this pre-post-intervention study, we implemented traffic-light style climate impact menu labels communicating the greenhouse gas emissions (GHGE) of foods in two university dining halls at a private university in Maryland, USA. We compared student dietary intake, perceptions, and university dining procurement pre- and post-intervention. Compared to a baseline period with a matching 4-week menu cycle, we found no significant changes students' overall dietary quality, and few differences in students' frequency of consuming key food groups. One in three students (33 %) in the sample (n = 186) noticed the climate change labels on the menus, and nearly half of surveyed students (48 %) said they would like the labels to continue to be displayed in dining halls. The majority of students reported that the labels did not influence their food choices at the dining hall (56 %) or elsewhere (67 %). More than 60 % of students believed a healthy diet includes meat, and ∼40 % believed that meatless meals are not filling. Climate labels are an important strategy for universities to consider to increase student awareness of climate impacts of their food choices, but other strategies, such as shifts in the types of meals offered on the menu, may also be needed to reduce GHGE of university dining programs.