Is Sustainability on Your Menu?

Your industry, and most other industries, have entered a new era.

­This new era is driven by sustainability, a concept that has washed through corporate boardrooms like a tsunami.

In 2021, for instance, companies that appointed a Chief Sustainability Officer (CSO) tripled compared to the previous year, according to a PwC survey. ­ That’s a result of pressure from stakeholders, employees and consumers who say they are more likely to pay more for brands that are sustainable.

A Capgemini survey, for instance, found that 79% of global consumers are changing their purchase preferences based on sustainability, and 66% choose to purchase products based on environmental friendliness.

Such preferences for sustainability were confirmed by a new study on climate impact labels on fast food. According to results published in the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA), traffic-light labels on fast food menus encourage people to pick climate-friendly foods when ordering.

Based on randomized clinical trials involving more than 5,000 U.S. adults asked to pick from a menu ordering beef, chicken, fish, plant-based substitutes and salads, more participants ordered a “sustainable” food item than compared to control groups.

Participants viewed menus with one of three labels: a quick response code label on all items (control group); green low, climate impact label on chicken, fish, or vegetarian items (positive framing); or red high, climate impact label on red meat items (negative framing).

Among participants choosing from menus with red, high-climate impact labels, 23% more ordered a “sustainable” item. ­ Those participants selecting from menus with green, low-climate impact labels were 10% more likely to choose a more “sustainable” option.

Certainly, we can argue whether any of the choices on those menus are more sustainable than beef. Scientists at AgNext, Colorado State’s sustainability and animal ag-focused research collaborative note, “Ruminants are upcyclers that can utilize marginal land and can convert human-inedible plant proteins, human food leftovers, and byproducts into high-quality protein, rich in micronutrients.”

Unfortunately, the message about beef sustainability is often missing or misunderstood. ­ at must change. Cattle producers already have a great sustainability story, but it is now critical we communicate that story effectively.