Climate Menu Labels May Effectively Shift Consumer Behaviors Toward Climate-Friendly Food
Dec 17, 2025
According to a new study led by researchers at the Johns Hopkins Center for a Livable Future (CLF), labels placed on food items that indicate climate impact can serve as a tool to shift consumer behavior toward more climate-friendly food and to reduce consumption of high-generating greenhouse gas emission food, such as red meat.
The study, “Implementing climate menu labels in university settings: a narrative review” was published online in Frontiers in Nutrition on November 20, 2025. It synthesized existing literature on the uses of climate labels and to date is the first study to summarize current literature on the design, implementation and effectiveness of climate menu labels in university settings.
The research was led by two CLF-Lerner Fellows, Elizabeth Crespi and Mei-Li Hey, who designed the research and conducted the literature review. CLF research assistant and Bloomberg American Health Initiative Fellow Ariana Yett helped to complete the study and shepherded it through the submission process. And Bloomberg School associate professor and former CLF-Lerner Fellow Julia Wolfson (2012-2015) provided guidance, while CLF staff members Daphene Altema-Johnson and Becky Ramsing advised the students.
Climate labels are placed on menu or food items and indicate the food’s climate impact, typically expressed as greenhouse gas emission (GHGE) intensity. Among the articles identified for this narrative review, the researchers found that 86 percent of the studies reported less consumption of high-emission food; 60 percent reported less consumption of medium-emission food; and 63 percent greater consumption of low-emission foods when climate menu labels were introduced. Current literature also suggests that climate labels may be more effective for individuals who are female, older, white, follow a diet with high-carbon footprint, and have higher levels of wellbeing. Further studies are needed to understand the impact when accounting for other factors like ethnicity and socioeconomic status.
“Education and training are critical to CLF’s mission,” says Shawn McKenzie, director of the Johns Hopkins Center for a Livable Future. “Collaborative research opportunities with professionals and students working side by side helps to build the next generation of food systems experts.
Data shows that food supply chains make up approximately 34 percent of total annual global greenhouse gas emissions (GHGEs), and reductions in GHGEs are critical for maintaining global average temperature increases between 1.5 to 2 degrees Celsius. Different food groups contribute greenhouse gases at varying rates; for example, red meat such as beef can produce almost 99 times more carbon dioxide equivalent than legumes such as peas.
“Understanding the impact of interventions like climate menu labels or Meatless Monday can help in our efforts to enable more informed food choices,” says Becky Ramsing, one of the authors of this study and senior program officer at the Johns Hopkins Center for a Livable Future. “We want to identify best practices to encourage more climate-friendly consumer food behaviors that can lower greenhouse gas emissions, such as reducing meat consumption. Exploring the effectiveness of climate menu labels is one avenue to achieve this goal.”
Among the reviewed studies, climate labels appear to be effective in shifting consumer behaviors in university dining settings, in certain circumstances. One of the notable patterns that emerged from these studies is that the introduction of climate labels was associated with small, detectable shifts in consumer behavior. Another notable pattern is that negative framing (e.g., labeling certain products as “high emission”) suggested a stronger consumer response than positive framing. A third noteworthy finding from the study is that women seemed more responsive than men when exposed to climate labels. Another finding is that implementing labels alongside educational materials is more effective. The studies reviewed varied in the design and implementation of climate labels, specifically in elements such as label placement, colors and images used in the design, scales or categories of GHGE intensity, the effect of key factors (e.g., ethnicity, income) on consumer behaviors, and more.
“Implementing climate menu labels in university settings: a narrative review,” was co-authored by Mei-Li Hey, Elizabeth Crespi, Ariana Yett, Daphene Altema-Johnson, Julia Wolfson, and Rebecca (Becky) Ramsing.
This work was supported by funding from the Silicon Valley Community Foundation.