Making plant-based dishes the default boosts students’ perception of meatless meals, Sodexo study finds

Putting plant-based dishes front and center may have an impact on how students perceive meatless items.

Or so revealed a recent study conducted by foodservice giant Sodexo in collaboration with the nonprofits Better Food Foundation and Food for Climate League.

The study found that on days when students were offered plant-based entrees as the default choice, they were “significantly more likely” to say they were satisfied with meatless meals.

Stations on three campuses—Tulane University in New Orleans, Lehigh University in Pennsylvania and Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (RPI) in New York—participated in the study.

On days where the stations served both meat- and plant-based dishes, 26.9% of the dishes they served were plant-based.

However, on days where plant-based dishes were the default option, with a meat-based version available by request, 57.6% of the dishes served were plant-based.

Taking RPI’s data out of the mix led to more striking results, with plant-based entrees making up 81.5% of the dishes served at Lehigh and Tulane on the plant default days. (The study noted that several factors, including RPI’s higher proportion of male students and some staffing issues, likely contributed to the campus’ lower “take rate” of plant-based offerings.)

In addition, on days when the meatless option was emphasized, greenhouse gas emissions related to the food served decreased by 23.6%.

“Having plant-based foods isn’t a buzz or a trend, it’s a need and a demand that we deliver with creativity and flavor,” Brett Ladd, CEO of Sodexo’s U.S. Campus division, said in a statement. “We also recognize that reducing our animal-based food purchases is a key part of our carbon reduction strategy. Having the plant entree as the default demonstrated that people are open to trying and enjoying plant-based options with the added benefit of helping the planet.”

Sodexo recently announced a plan for half of its menus on higher-ed campuses to be plant-based by 2025.

Steering diners toward plant-based dishes is also taking off in other segments of noncommercial, including K-12 and healthcare. At NYC Health Hospitals, an effort to make plant-based entrees patients’ default choice has been quite a success, says the Sodexo-run dining operation. Patients at the 11 hospitals are now choosing the plant-based dishes up to 60% of the time, and satisfaction is higher than 90%.