Climate Labels for Restaurant Menus Pilot

University of California (UC) Davis

Status: Completed

Conditions: Food Selection

Treatments: Behavioral: Menu label

Study type: Interventional

Funder types: Other

Identifiers

NCT06651060

1641776-8C

Details and patient eligibility

About

The aim of this study is to compare responses to 6 different types of labels for restaurant menus: 1) a QR code on all items (control); 2) High Climate Impact label; 3) High Climate Impact Warning label; 4) Climate Grade label; 5) Climate Grade label also displaying full range of possible grades; 6) Estimated Environmental Cost label. Participants will be randomized to 1 of these 6 labeling arms. Each participant will view a menu based on a real-world restaurant with one of the 6 labels shown on applicable menu items, select the menu item they would like, and then respond to survey questions about each label.

Full description

This is an online randomized controlled trial in which researchers will use a survey company to recruit participants to an online survey. In the study, participants will be randomized to 1 of 6 labeling arms: 1) a QR code on all items (control); 2) High Climate Impact label; 3) High Climate Impact Warning label; 4) Climate Grade label; 5) Climate Grade label also displaying full range of possible grades; 6) Estimated Environmental Cost label. Labels will only appear alongside main menu items and will be assigned using thresholds for greenhouse gas emissions set a priori in kilograms of CO2 equivalent per kilogram of food. Each participant will view a menu based on a real-world restaurant with one of the 6 labels shown on applicable menu items, select the menu item they would like, then respond to survey questions about each label.

For dichotomous outcomes, the investigators will directly estimate the probability ratio using Poisson regression with a robust error variance, regressing the outcome on indicators for experimental condition. For continuous outcomes, the investigators will use linear regression models, regressing the outcome on indicators for experimental condition. A critical alpha 0.05 will be used, and statistical tests will be two-tailed. Investigators will compare all experimental label conditions to the control label, then compare each experimental label to each other using pairwise comparisons.

Enrollment: 16,181 patients

Sex: All

Ages: 18+ years old

Volunteers: Accepts Healthy Volunteers

Inclusion criteria

• 18 years and older
• English-speaking
• U.S. residents
• Have eaten restaurant food at least once in the last month
• Participants will reflect the U.S. Census Bureau's American Community Survey estimates for sex, race/ethnicity, educational attainment, and age

Exclusion criteria

• Non-US resident
• Younger than 18 years old
• Failing the attention check question
• Completing the survey in less than 33% of the median completion time

Trial design

Primary purpose: Prevention

Allocation: Randomized

Interventional model: Parallel Assignment

Masking: Single Blind

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16,181 participants in 6 patient groups, including a placebo group

Control (QR) labels

Placebo Comparator group

Description:

Labels placed beneath all menu items will contain QR codes with the text, "scan here", without any mention of sustainability

Treatment:

Behavioral: Menu label

High Climate Impact labels

Experimental group

Description:

Labels will be placed beneath menu items with a high climate impact using a predetermined threshold of estimated greenhouse gas emissions set at \>=9.2 kgCO2e. Labels will contain white text, "High Climate Impact", on a red background with a globe icon

Treatment:

Behavioral: Menu label

High Climate Impact Warning labels

Experimental group

Description:

Labels will be placed beneath menu items with a high climate impact using a predetermined threshold of estimated greenhouse gas emissions set at \>=9.2 kgCO2e. Labels will contain white text, "Warning: High Climate Impact", on a red background with a globe icon

Treatment:

Behavioral: Menu label

Climate Grade labels

Experimental group

Description:

Labels will be placed beneath all menu items, using predetermined estimated greenhouse gas emission thresholds to assign one of five icon-plus-text labels which indicate a specific climate impact grade (A, B, C, D, and F). Thresholds are set in kgCO2e as follows: \[A\] \<1.7, \[B\] \>=1.7 \& \<2.6, \[C\] \>=2.6 \& \<9.2, \[D\] \>=9.2 \& \<28, \[F\] \>=28. Labels shown will contain white text, "Climate Grade", on a black background with a globe icon. The labels will include a white letter in a colored box on the left side, A (dark green), B (light green), C (yellow), D (orange), or F (red)

Treatment:

Behavioral: Menu label

Climate Grade label also displaying full range of possible grades

Experimental group

Description:

Labels will be placed beneath all menu items, using predetermined estimated greenhouse gas emission thresholds to assign one of five icon-plus-text labels which indicate a specific climate impact grade (A, B, C, D, and F). Thresholds are set in kgCO2e as follows: \[A\] \<1.7, \[B\] \>=1.7 \& \<2.6, \[C\] \>=2.6 \& \<9.2, \[D\] \>=9.2 \& \<28, \[F\] \>=28. Labels shown will contain white text, "Climate Grade", on a black background with a globe icon. The labels will include a white letter in a colored box on the left side, A (dark green), B (light green), C (yellow), D (orange), or F (red). This label will also include a small scale of each white letter and colored box option beneath the main white letter and colored box

Treatment:

Behavioral: Menu label

Estimated Environmental Cost labels

Experimental group

Description:

Labels will be placed beneath all menu items, displaying the estimated dollar value associated with greenhouse gas emissions. Labels shown will contain white text, "Environmental Cost," with a dollar value (i.e., +$10.90) on a black background with a globe icon

Treatment:

Behavioral: Menu label