Publication Type

Journal Article

Version

submittedVersion

Publication Date

7-2021

Abstract

Whereas large-scale consumption of energy-dense foods contributes to climate change, we investigated whether exposure to climate change-induced food scarcity affects preferences toward these foods. Humans? current psychological mechanisms have developed in their ancestral evolutionary past to respond to immediate threats and opportunities. Consequently, these mechanisms may not distinguish between cues to actual food scarcity and cues to food scarcity distant in time and space. Drawing on the insurance hypothesis, which postulates that humans should respond to environmental cues to food scarcity through increased energy consumption, we predicted that exposing participants to climate change-induced food scarcity content increases their preferences toward energy-dense foods, with this effect being particularly pronounced in women. Three exper-iments?including one preregistered laboratory study?confirm this notion. Our findings jointly demonstrate that receiving information about food shortages distant in time and space can influence current food preferences.

Keywords

Climate change, Media exposure, Insurance hypothesis, Food preferences, Food scarcity

Discipline

Applied Behavior Analysis | Food Science | Social Psychology

Research Areas

Psychology

Publication

Food Quality and Preference

Volume

91

First Page

1

Last Page

5

ISSN

0950-3293

Identifier

10.1016/j.foodqual.2021.104213

Publisher

Elsevier

Copyright Owner and License

Authors

Additional URL

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.foodqual.2021.104213

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