Climate Misperceptions and Food Consumption: Experimental Evidence from Scanner Data

Abstract

We study the causal effect of improved climate-impact knowledge on food consumption. In collaboration with Norway’s largest grocery chain, we combine a randomized information intervention that provides the climate impact of beef and other sources of protein with customer scanner data covering nearly two years around the intervention. There is widespread underestimation of emissions from beef: fewer than 1% of respondents correctly assess its climate impact relative to substitutes such as pork, poultry, or plant-based alternatives. The information treatment corrects this misperception and shifts purchase intentions towards lower-emission options. These effects translate to changes in real behavior: in the scanner data, we document a reduction in beef consumption over the subsequent five months. Heterogeneity analysis reveals that the effect is driven by a large subgroup of people who care about the climate but were misinformed prior to intervention.