ACC News Brief
Practical Solutions Global
Food defaults showed the clearest gains in a 110-study review
What happened
A machine-learning-assisted systematic review and meta-analysis examined 306 effect sizes from 110 articles covering more than 2.4 million observations of actual or incentivized behavior. Average effects on sustainable food choices and food-waste reduction were small, but changing availability and defaults drove much of the overall effect, while incentives also showed promise for reducing waste.
Why it matters
Food systems have substantial climate impacts, and institutions can shape choices without relying only on individual motivation. The review suggests that practical choice design can help, but large or universal effects should not be assumed because results varied across interventions and publication bias reduced many estimates.
What to watch
- Field trials that report food purchased, eaten, and discarded rather than attitudes or intentions alone.
- Whether plant-forward defaults and availability changes remain effective across cultures, incomes, and settings.
- Equity, affordability, nutrition, customer acceptance, and measured emissions outcomes alongside waste reduction.
Sources & evidence
- A meta-analysis assessing the effectiveness of demand-side interventions for sustainable food consumption and food waste reductionPeer-reviewed Article in Nature Food, published January 19, 2026. DOI: 10.1038/s43016-025-01279-9. The synthesis covers 306 effect sizes from 110 articles and explicitly reports small average effects, substantial heterogeneity, and severe publication bias.
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