Working with the community to increase consumption of plant-based protein:  A mixed-method research study on the consumption of plant vs. animal-based protein in a university canteen

2024-09-20

11:30 AM - 12:00 PM

Working with the community to increase consumption of plant-based protein:  A mixed-method research study on the consumption of plant vs. animal-based protein in a university canteen

Abstract

Higher education institutions (HEI) can impact public food policy due to the large amount of food they procure (Lambrecht 2023). The ubiquitous nature of their canteens can also have a lasting effect on the food preferences of young people who are making some of their most important independent choices (Pandey et al., 2023). Through a close collaboration between researchers at the International Business School Suzhou (IBSS), the Xi’an Jiaotong-Liverpool University (XJTLU) Campus Management Office, the Life & Hope Canteen and the Good Food Fund China NGO, a mixed-method research study was conducted focusing on attitudes toward and consumption of plant vs. animal-based protein in the Life & Hope Canteen on the XJTLU South Campus.  The first study was a survey of 305 student participants who reported on their attitudes and behavior which influence their food choices.  The results of this survey indicated that 77% of the participants eat meat 6-7 times per week while 76% of them are unsure if plant protein alone is adequate for nutrition.

Considering these findings, the researchers worked with the Canteen to conduct a second study, a field experiment which used various nudging strategies, “useful and often cost effective approach[es] that aim to create behavioral change in a predictive way without restricting the freedom of choice” (Pandey et al, 2023:895) to influence canteen guests to choose tofu rather than animal-based protein.  Our 7 weeks’ field experiment utilized placement (Colleoni et al., 2020, Garnett et al., 2019) and information (Jalil et al., 2020, Lorenz-Walther et al., 2019,) as the two nudging strategies.  From the over 7000 meals observed during this period, the placement of tofu near the front of the cafeteria line with the animal-based protein did increase the tofu consumption. Providing information on grams of protein per serving as well as signage advertising a workshop on plant-based proteins from the Good Food Fund China as a second nudge similarly led to increased tofu consumption even after the nudges were removed from the cafeteria line.

This presentation will discuss how business schools can make an impact by conducting ecologically-valid research on their own campuses which may change students’ attitudes and behavior to more sustainable actions.  Of course, research of this type can only be conducted with the cooperation of other campus units and in this case, a national food system transformation NGO.

Bio:

Dr. Ellen E Touchstone is the inaugural Associate Dean for Responsible and Sustainable Business Education at the International Business School Suzhou (IBSS) @ XJTLU.  She received her MBA in International Business from Thunderbird ASU School of Global Management and her PhD in Applied Linguistics from the University of Southern California. She is a thought leader on services marketing with a focus on inclusive banking.  Her research on the linguistic servicescape and multilingual advertising has been published in the Journal of Business Research and the Journal of Consumer Research respectively.

In addition to IBSS where she teaches Introduction to Marketing, Retail Marketing, and Marketing Ethics, she has taught at the University of Southern California (USC), the University of California-Los Angeles (UCLA), California State University-Long Beach, California State University-Los Angeles and Whittier College. She also has significant industry experience having worked at LingualCare, a 3M company, Peoplesoft, and the US Department of Commerce as well as several US retailers such as Dillard’s, Target and Jack in the Box Inc.

During her tenure, IBSS was designated the first and only Champion business school in China by the Principles of Responsible Management Education (PRME) organization of the UN Global Compact. The carbon reduction initiative she launched with the Sustainable Future Talents student group, "Fifteen Ways in Fifteen Weeks" won the AMBA BGA Best CSR & Sustainability Initiative 2022 award and Third Prize at the 13th RCE Global Forum in 2023.  In March 2022, she was named a China Super Woman by Shanghai-based Green Initiatives for her work on environmental and gender equity initiatives in the Yangtze River Delta and in November of that year, she received the Model Citizen award from the Suzhou Industrial Park government (SIP).  In December 2023, she received the Outstanding Volunteer Award 2023 from the SIP International Volunteer Team.

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