I have to admit, I thought a fast-food chain featuring low fat, relatively healthy food was a winner. Do you remember the chain from the ’90s, Delights? It failed miserably. People like eating fatty, salty, sweet foods … they simply taste better.
So, when I read about restaurants encouraging customers to eat lower carbon alternative meals, I have to admit I am a skeptic. But it is happening. Read the latest from Green Biz.
Offering customer health information on foods has become pretty standard, but I doubt most people really look. They like what they like. You may see people studying the menu on the wall at fast food places, but you won’t see them lining up staring at the health information on each item.
So, to assume you can nudge consumer behavior by telling them how your food was sourced and what that environmental footprint makes me think we are not talking about mainstream consumer behavior … at least not yet.
But, I offer this observation: I have never seen such a groundswell of enthusiasm around these ideas. Perhaps it is being driven by corporate greenwashing plus brand redefinitions. I just don’t know.
What I do know is we are in the fastest migration away from traditional talk around energy and environmental issues in my lifetime.
When I raised my daughters they would roll their eyes as I talked about energy efficiency and productivity work along with energy master planning at Mayo Clinic and elsewhere.
Now I am topically interesting … well … maybe not as interesting as the Kardashians …