Evaluating Consumer Understanding of the Swedish Meat Guide—A Multi-layered Environmental Information Tool Communicating Trade-offs When Choosing Food

ABSTRACT

To facilitate the choice of more sustainable animal-based products in the diet, a Swedish meat guide providing complex, multi-layered environmental information to non-experts has been developed. This study evaluated reception of this guide by consumers. In five focus groups, participants (“interested consumers”) carried out a joint environmental and animal welfare ranking assignment to test understanding and use of the guide. The type and detail of indicators (e.g. carbon footprint) in the meat guide suited the audience. The guide stimulated discussion on ethical issues and quality aspects of meat, revealed perceived obstacles to reducing meat consumption and provided an understanding that any food product chosen comes with trade-offs.

KEYWORDS:

• Environmental information
• sustainable food consumption
• consumer guidance
• meat guide
• food

Acknowledgements

Thanks are due to the Swedish Research Council Formas and the Swedish Retail and Wholesale Development Council, for financing the project Climate Labelling in Food Retail.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.