Plant-based diets were historically the norm in many cultures. Its industrial societies saw meat-eating grow from being an occasional treat to weekly or even daily making vegetarianism a hard sell. According to NatCen, Britain’s largest independent social research agency, three in ten people in Britain (29%) say they have reduced the amount of meat they ate. (2016 survey)

The challenge: How to make the plant-based diet the mainstream diet? One strategy is to change the language used to describe plant-rich foods.

World Resources Institute has researched what works and what doesn’t when it comes describing plant-rich foods in a way that can appeal to consumers and shift them away from meat and animal food choices.

• Don’t use “Meat-Free”: Meat-free means less of what meat eaters like as it emphasises what is missing from a dish which can trigger a person’s desire to avoid losing out on something.
• Don’t use “vegan” to describe plant-based dishes: Vegan can mean different from me so avoid the “us-them” mentality. Research has found the word “vegan” to be divisive online and this may prevent people from trying the growing range of plant-based proteins available. The recommendation is to use a symbol on menus or packaging to indicate a dish is suitable for vegans.
• Don’t use “vegetarian”: Naming a food as vegetarian can invoke a mix of positive and negative perceptions. A study by the London School of Economics found that 56 per cent of meat eaters were less likely to order a plant-rich dish if it was contained within a vegetarian box. Study participants reported they are concerned about a perceived lack of protein and iron and that a vegetarian diet may be nutritionally unbalanced. Many also see vegetarian diets as boring and bland. The recommendation is to use a symbol on menus or packaging to indicate a dish is suitable for vegetarians.
• Don’t use “healthy restrictive” language: Generally, people just don’t see healthy foods as all that enjoyable. If plant-rich foods are already thought of as boring and bland, highlighting these foods’ health benefits can throw “not tasty” into the mix of potential negative perceptions.
• Do highlight “the place of origin”: Showcasing the origin of the dish can be more appealing. Highlighting the link between food and the natural environment can have a positive impact. For example, Sainsbury’s name change from “Meat-free Breakfast” to “Field Grown Breakfast” resulted in a 17 per cent increase in sales.