Eating less meat and dairy is healthy and environmentally sustainable, but food labeled as “vegan” is relatively unpopular. Here, we examined the effect of different labels for promoting choices for food without meat and dairy, among a representative U.S. sample (N = 7341). Participants chose between one gourmet food gift basket without meat and dairy and another with meat and dairy that were available from an actual online store. They were randomly assigned to one of five conditions, in which the gourmet food gift basket without meat and dairy was labeled as “vegan”, “plant-based,” “healthy,” “sustainable,” or “healthy and sustainable.” Ten participants were randomly selected to receive the gourmet food gift basket of their choice. Overall, the gourmet food gift basket without meat and dairy was less likely to be chosen when its label focused on its content (stating “vegan” or “plant-based”) rather than on its benefits (stating “healthy”, “sustainable” or both). Specifically, the “plant-based” label did only slightly better than the “vegan” label, leading, respectively, to 27% and 20% of participants choosing the gourmet food gift basket without meat and dairy. However, 42% of participants chose the gourmet food gift basket without meat and dairy when it was labeled “healthy,” 43% when it was labeled “sustainable,” and 44% when it was labeled “healthy and sustainable.” This labeling effect was consistent across socio-demographics groups but was stronger among self-proclaimed red-meat eaters. Labels provide a low-cost intervention for promoting healthy and sustainable food choices.

少吃肉类和奶制品是健康和环境可持续的，但贴上“素食”标签的食品相对不受欢迎。在这里，我们以美国代表性样本 (N = 7341) 为样本，研究了不同标签对促进选择不含肉类和奶制品的食品的影响。参与者在一个不含肉类和奶制品的美食礼品篮和另一个含有肉类和奶制品的美食礼品篮之间进行选择，这些礼品篮可从实际的在线商店购买。他们被随机分配到五种条件之一，其中不含肉类和奶制品的美食礼品篮被标记为“素食”、“植物性”、“健康”、“可持续”或“健康和可持续”。随机选出十名参与者，领取他们选择的美食礼篮。总体而言，当其标签侧重于其内容（注明“素食”或“植物性”）而不是其益处（注明“健康”、“可持续”）时，不含肉类和奶制品的美食礼品篮不太可能被选择或两者）。具体来说，“植物性”标签仅比“纯素食”标签稍好一些，分别导致 27% 和 20% 的参与者选择不含肉类和奶制品的美食礼品篮。然而，当标签为“健康”时，42％的参与者选择不含肉类和奶制品的美食礼品篮，当标签为“可持续”时，43％的参与者选择，当标签为“健康和可持续”时，44％的参与者选择它。这种标签效应在不同的社会人口群体中是一致的，但在自称为红肉食者的群体中更为强烈。标签为促进健康和可持续的食品选择提供了低成本的干预措施。