Climate-friendly food consumption: a quantitative content analysis of media representations of dietary guidelines

Purpose This study aims to examine the impact of incorporating climate considerations into dietary guidelines that seek to affect public opinion. The study asks: What happens to public opinion when governments emphasize climate considerations in a policy tool traditionally focused on individual health guidance? Design/methodology/approach Media portrayal of climate-friendly food consumption serves as the empirical resource for examining how public opinion may be shaped. Based on a review of 320 articles published in Danish newspapers, this study applies a quantitative content analysis approach that incorporates binary coding, optimal scaling and path analysis. Findings The findings provide insights into the construction of public opinion about dietary guidelines and uncover significant narrative structures in public media highly relevant for public and private stakeholders wanting to contribute to a climate-friendly food system. Research limitations/implications First, this study relies on coding media articles at a specific point in time, which may not capture changes in media discourse or public sentiment over time. Second, the study focuses on the analysis of newspaper articles. Future research can address these limitations through a mixed-method approach and by including other kinds of communication outlets. Practical implications By introducing climate as a moderator to the study of public opinion, this study provides several implications for public and private stakeholders on how to promote more climate-friendly diets. Originality/value This study investigates an under-researched driver of climate-friendly food attitudes and motivations, that is media representations of dietary guidelines.