Food choice with increased visibility - a field experiment at an environmental economics conference

Dannenberg, Astrid, Dini, Giorgio, Tavoni, Alessandro ORCID: 0000-0002-2057-5720 and Weingaertner, Eva (2026) Food choice with increased visibility - a field experiment at an environmental economics conference. Ecological Economics, 240. ISSN 0921-8009

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Abstract

Food choices and in particular meat consumption have major impacts on the local and global environment, which is why the topic is gaining attention in environmental economics and other disciplines. In this study, we investigate the effect of increased visibility on food choices, for which there has been little research to date. We present findings from a field experiment among researchers at a large environmental economics conference. When registering for the three-days conference and prior to choosing between vegan, vegetarian, or meat/fish lunches, half of the participants were informed that their choice would be visibly printed on their conference name badge. The remaining half were informed of this saliency only after their food choice (at the conference venue). Despite the conference setting in which environmentally friendly choices and signals are likely to be valued, we find no significant effect of the treatment on lunch choices. We discuss possible reasons for the null effect, including that the consequences of visibility are ignored, discounted, or already factored in.

Item Type:	Article
Additional Information:	© 2025 The Authors
Divisions:	Grantham Research Institute
Subjects:	S Agriculture > S Agriculture (General) G Geography. Anthropology. Recreation > GE Environmental Sciences H Social Sciences > HB Economic Theory
JEL classification:	C - Mathematical and Quantitative Methods > C9 - Design of Experiments > C90 - General D - Microeconomics > D9 - Intertemporal Choice and Growth > D91 - Intertemporal Consumer Choice; Life Cycle Models and Saving Q - Agricultural and Natural Resource Economics; Environmental and Ecological Economics > Q1 - Agriculture > Q18 - Agricultural Policy; Food Policy
Date Deposited:	04 Dec 2025 10:33
Last Modified:	04 Dec 2025 19:18
URI:	http://eprints.lse.ac.uk/id/eprint/130410

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