How important is healthiness, carbon footprint and meat content when purchasing a ready meal? Evidence from a non-hypothetical discrete choice experiment

Recent high-level reports state the population should decrease meat consumption to reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, as well improve public health. This calls for new strategies change dietary habits, especially many consumers are reluctant eat less meat. study tests effect of labelling a meat-based ready meal with different levels carbon footprint and healthiness on consumers’ willingness pay (WTP) these attributes. Participants took part in two sequential non-hypothetical discrete choice experiments (DCE). In first experiment, they completed DCE where meals (i.e. beef lasagne) were labelled using dual traffic light system; one healthiness. second participants repeated after told varied because saturated fat content, respectively. The found that willing premium healthier lasagne this did not when given information about content. also lower footprint, but decreased knew contained Information content had unintended consequence discouraging people buy low footprint. provides an important insight policy industry into purchasing decisions at time being encouraged