With climate change now being a central issue in the United States and the world, scientists are looking for ways to improve environmental sustainability on an individual level that will contribute to climate recovery. Getting people to change their habits is tough though, especially in the U.S. where we love our big trucks, long showers and red meat. But, statistics show that reducing these amenities may help to improve the climate. While most Americans don't have huge trucks, a majority eat red meat, and reducing red meat consumption is a smart and convenient decision you can make at home to reduce climate change(Why There Is Less Meat on Many American Plates).
T-bone steaks are very high on my favorite foods list, but knowing that my behavior hurts the environment makes me a little guilty that I have them from time to time. Since acquiring this knowledge, I've attempted to reduce my red meat consumption. In order to do this, I have tried to understand the reasons I eat red meat and concluded I consume it for two reasons/goals: pure delicious taste, and protein content. So, now I get most of my protein from chicken(still not that great for environment but way better than red meat) and protein shakes(takes care of my protein goal). For taste, I discovered I only ate red meat at certain establishments like chipotle, so I made the easy switch to the chicken option and it's still delicious. These are just small examples of how I observed my behavior and made convenient changes that still run parallel with my goals; consuming a certain amount of protein and of course eating delicious foods. The external negative consequences of my actions(red meat is harmful to the environment) overcame the personal goal for conservation of habits(protein and taste) with the assistance of convenient behavior in change, this is what psychological professor, Art Markman, attributes partly to what he call Smart Change. (Smart Change: Five Tools to Create New and Sustainable Habits in Yourself and Others, Art Markman).
So, why is this issue important for climate change in the first place? The industrial meat industry promotes a host of environmental problems ranging from deforestation that is turned into farmland to methane production by the animals themselves. From 1962 the meat supply demand has grown 200% more than the growth of the population(UNEP 2012), and the population has grown significantly since 1962. Also, a substantial amount of our agriculture goes directly into feeding livestock. The agriculture that grows from environmentally unfavorable fertilizers runs into the nearby streams and eventually down rivers that contribute to eutrophication (depletion of nutrients in water), which is a big reason why our fish population is dying out as well. In conclusion, if there is a reduction in the demand for consumption of red meat, then the supply of red meat will go down- thus having a reduced negative impact on the environment.
Overcoming the resistance to change by Smart Change is one way to influence public behavior, another way is through competition. Both parts have contributed to the recent field called behavioral economics. WaterSmart Software, a company trying to reduce the amount of water we use in the United States, did a behavioral analysis to see how presenting water data through a collection personal reports and a presentation of your neighbors' personal reports could induce a feeling of competition among neighbors. The incentive= if households got below a certain number of water use per month, the household would get an extra bill deduction. They separated the neighborhood into three groups and averaged each individual household's water consumption throughout the next couple months. One group did not get any reports, one group got only personal reports and one group got both their personal reports and a comparison of their neighbor's reports. Results showed- households that received both reports reduced their water consumption the most, and households that received only their personal reports reduced their water consumption more than the control group, or the group that didn't receive any reports. This suggests competition with neighbors has a huge influence on water consumption behavior.
Both techniques are used by the behavioral departments of many consumer companies, this side of Cognitive Science is called behavioral economics, through channeling behavioral influence towards the consumption of products, it has lead to the success of hundreds of companies. With sustainability being perhaps one the most important rising issues the next couple decades, there is a desire to take action influencing behavior towards more sustainable methods of living. This sustainable action could be propelled by these behavioral methods, and these are examples of how it has already been done.
Markman, Arthur B. Smart Change: Five Tools to Create New and Sustainable Habits in Yourself and Others. N.p.: n.p., n.d. Print.
Eli
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