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No need for meat as most customers do not leave canteens on Veggie Days

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  • Merk, Christine
  • Meissner, Leonie P.
  • Griesoph, Amelie
  • Hoffmann, Stefan
  • Schmidt, Ulrich
  • Rehdanz, Katrin

Abstract

Switching to a diet lower in red meat has the potential to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. Using a unique time series of daily sales data from three German university canteens from 2017 to 2019, we analyse the effects of a monthly Veggie Day in a food-away-from-home context. We find that the temporary ban on meat dishes did not lead to a widespread boycott – as the heated public debates might have suggested. In our setting, a Veggie Day could reduce greenhouse gas emissions by up to 66%. However, especially at the site with a higher share of meat eaters on regular days, up to 22% of customers bypassed the meat-free main dishes on Veggie Days and ate at other on-site alternatives where meat was available. However, total on-site sales did not decrease significantly. Students were less likely to switch to alternatives than staff and guests. A less stringent implementation of a Veggie Day where only beef dishes were removed from the menu, did not result in a significant shift to alternatives but could reduce emissions by up to 51%.

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  • Merk, Christine & Meissner, Leonie P. & Griesoph, Amelie & Hoffmann, Stefan & Schmidt, Ulrich & Rehdanz, Katrin, 2024. "No need for meat as most customers do not leave canteens on Veggie Days," Open Access Publications from Kiel Institute for the World Economy 306606, Kiel Institute for the World Economy (IfW Kiel).
    • Handle: RePEc:zbw:ifwkie:306606
    DOI: 10.1038/s44168-024-00162-w
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