Information nudges for environmentally sustainable food choices: A meta-analysis of field studies

We meta-analyze field studies published over the past 15 years to examine whether information nudges promote environmentally sustainable food choices in real-world settings, which types of information nudges elicit stronger behavioral responses, and under what conditions their effects vary. Drawing on 143 effect sizes from 63 field studies across 45 articles, we find that, on average, information nudges yield a modest but significant effect in promoting pro-environmental food choices. We classify information nudges into five common types: descriptive sustainability labeling, evaluative sustainability labeling, social norms, hedonic appeals, and calls for sustainable food choices. There is no clear evidence that any of the five types produces larger effects than the others. Instead, the results indicate that the effects of information nudges vary by study design, intervention duration, year of implementation, setting, and outcome measure. Specifically, nudge effects appear larger in studies using pre–post designs with a control group than in those without a control group, in studies with shorter intervention durations, in studies implemented before 2020 than in those implemented between 2020 and 2025, and in studies conducted in off-site eateries than in on-site cafeterias. Information nudges also tend to be more effective in reducing unsustainable food choices than in increasing sustainable ones. Nevertheless, the effect estimates remain modest across all examined moderator categories.