WEBVTT 00:00:06.531 --> 00:00:09.440 align:middle line:84% 226, that's the number of decisions 00:00:09.440 --> 00:00:13.700 align:middle line:84% we make about food every day, according to a 2007 Cornell 00:00:13.700 --> 00:00:15.250 align:middle line:90% University study. 00:00:15.250 --> 00:00:17.750 align:middle line:84% The physical and symbolic environment 00:00:17.750 --> 00:00:21.710 align:middle line:84% in which we make these decisions is called choice architecture, 00:00:21.710 --> 00:00:25.820 align:middle line:84% a phrase coined in 2008 by behavioural economists Richard 00:00:25.820 --> 00:00:28.160 align:middle line:90% Thaler and Cass Sunstein. 00:00:28.160 --> 00:00:31.220 align:middle line:84% Adjustments to choice architecture encourage people 00:00:31.220 --> 00:00:34.280 align:middle line:84% towards certain behaviours, that's nudge theory. 00:00:34.280 --> 00:00:37.190 align:middle line:84% The smell of baking in a supermarket and sweets 00:00:37.190 --> 00:00:39.470 align:middle line:84% by the checkout, these are nudges. 00:00:39.470 --> 00:00:44.510 align:middle line:84% But can nudging be harnessed to promote food sustainability? 00:00:44.510 --> 00:00:48.200 align:middle line:84% In 2012, a study at Indiana University 00:00:48.200 --> 00:00:51.800 align:middle line:84% showed that by removing trays from the student canteen 00:00:51.800 --> 00:00:54.890 align:middle line:84% and reducing the surface area for diners to fill, 00:00:54.890 --> 00:00:57.920 align:middle line:84% 18 per cent less food was wasted. 00:00:57.920 --> 00:00:59.910 align:middle line:90% Language can have an impact. 00:00:59.910 --> 00:01:01.910 align:middle line:84% For plant-based meals, the words, 00:01:01.910 --> 00:01:06.140 align:middle line:84% 'meat-free', and 'vegan' may signal a social identity that 00:01:06.140 --> 00:01:07.880 align:middle line:90% many don't aspire to. 00:01:07.880 --> 00:01:11.660 align:middle line:84% Recent trials conducted by the World Resources Institute 00:01:11.660 --> 00:01:15.230 align:middle line:84% found that when Sainsbury's meat-free sausage and mash was 00:01:15.230 --> 00:01:18.560 align:middle line:84% renamed Cumberland spiced veggie sausages and mash, 00:01:18.560 --> 00:01:21.830 align:middle line:90% sales increased by 76 per cent. 00:01:21.830 --> 00:01:24.110 align:middle line:84% But critics of consumer nudging say 00:01:24.110 --> 00:01:27.140 align:middle line:84% it avoids tackling the hole in the food chain. 00:01:27.140 --> 00:01:29.420 align:middle line:84% The UK's Behavioural Insights Team, 00:01:29.420 --> 00:01:32.630 align:middle line:84% a government backed company that uses psychology to try 00:01:32.630 --> 00:01:36.230 align:middle line:84% to change public behaviour, is looking at double nudges to be 00:01:36.230 --> 00:01:38.000 align:middle line:90% introduced through policy. 00:01:38.000 --> 00:01:39.950 align:middle line:84% These would be aimed at consumers, 00:01:39.950 --> 00:01:42.930 align:middle line:84% yet also encourage businesses to change. 00:01:42.930 --> 00:01:47.870 align:middle line:84% An example of this is the UK's 2018 sugar tax on soft drinks. 00:01:47.870 --> 00:01:50.760 align:middle line:84% Customers have to pay the tax, but as a result, 00:01:50.760 --> 00:01:53.540 align:middle line:84% companies dropped the sugar content of their drinks 00:01:53.540 --> 00:01:57.810 align:middle line:84% by almost 30 per cent per 100 mil to keep prices down. 00:01:57.810 --> 00:02:00.470 align:middle line:84% The supermarket sustainability rating system 00:02:00.470 --> 00:02:03.590 align:middle line:84% could function in a similar way and is being considered 00:02:03.590 --> 00:02:05.330 align:middle line:90% by Behavioural Insights. 00:02:05.330 --> 00:02:09.320 align:middle line:84% It would give food retailers a clear overall sustainability 00:02:09.320 --> 00:02:13.160 align:middle line:84% score so consumers would only need to make one sustainability 00:02:13.160 --> 00:02:16.730 align:middle line:84% decision over where to shop instead of considering 00:02:16.730 --> 00:02:18.560 align:middle line:90% each individual product. 00:02:18.560 --> 00:02:22.580 align:middle line:84% Subconsciously, people are more receptive to habit alterations 00:02:22.580 --> 00:02:24.680 align:middle line:84% in times of upheaval, as the world 00:02:24.680 --> 00:02:28.070 align:middle line:84% is experiencing right now due to the coronavirus. 00:02:28.070 --> 00:02:30.350 align:middle line:84% For that reason behavioural scientists 00:02:30.350 --> 00:02:35.440 align:middle line:84% see this moment as a potentially exciting window for change.