Last week the Rose Scholars was visited by a panel of experts from the Cornell Food and Brand Lab to talk about the reasoning behind our food choices. It was interesting to learn that through various studies, producers have found ways to influence the consumers choice when laying out a buffet line to a grocery store. It so happens that no matter what the first three items in a buffet line are, the consumer’s plate will typically contain 60% of those items. It’s small tricks like this that can assist in implementing slightly healthier eating habits for ones friends and family and community as a whole. The dinning halls in Cornell always have the fruit stands at eye level so it is the first thing one looks at. Also the salad bars are positioned so that people can have easy access to either side of it. This way, students may have a greater chance of choosing these items over too much meat and dessert options.

A tip that can be implemented in one’s own home is to leave a bowl of salad or fruit on the table and keep the meat on the stove. That way, one is forced to have to get up if one wants more food and will probably opt for serving themselves more salad to compensate. Putting the high sugar and sodium items out of reach assists with temptation as well.

Important tip: if one is hungry, one should avoid going to a grocery store of fast food restaurant. When being in a state of hunger, the mind goes for the option that would not necessarily be most filling but the one that will be most pleasing. Thus, one’s decisions about the food they will buy are likely to not be as nutritious as if they were in a content mind set. This is definitely something I have begun to implement in my daily life and it has helped greatly.

Overall, this talk was extremely informative and it sparked many questions regarding what must be going on in the minds of large food producers or store owners.

Last Wednesday, faculty members from the Cornell Food and Brand Lab came to talk about the recent changes in food choices in the dining halls. They gave an interesting, economic point of view on food choice. In fact, they’ve conducted research so as to place emphasis on eating healthier.

From their work, the Cornell Food and Brand Lab saw a trend of people filling their plates with the first three courses at a given station. Therefore, most dining halls have conveniently placed steamed vegetables and healthier food options first followed by the more protein centered meals. Furthermore, their research also showed that people who cleaned their plate tend to feel more full, hence plate size also plays a factor in our diet.

Now that I think about what they presented, I do find myself filling my plates with vegetables in most of the dining halls before portioning myself some meat. And by the time I get to the protein, a lot of my plate is already covered with rice, steamed vegetables, or a vegetable stir-fry. It’s fascinating to see the cooperation and live implementation of research done here at the university to the consumer level. I also see that the tactics being applied here are also in line with the new initiatives that Cornell Dining has embarked on, namely the mission to provide healthier choice options for students.

Ultimately, we end up choosing what we want to eat, but it’s intriguing to see that the university is actively improving and subtly changing our eating habits for a healthier lifestyle.

Last Wednesday I attended the final Becker/Rose Cafe where representatives from the Food & Brand Lab at Cornell came to discuss some of the work that they do. I was really excited to attend this cafe because I pass by the Food & Brand Lab everyday as I go to class in Warren. I have actually participated in an experiment with the lab where I was given different types of food and asked to react to them. The experiment seemed really interesting to me and I have since wondered about what else they study.

One topic that David Just, Adam Brumberg, and Gnel Gabrielyan talked about was the choices that people make in deciding what they will eat and what influences those decisions. There are many methods that can subconsciously influence us to make healthier decisions when choosing what to eat. For example, there has been a nation wide move towards having smaller plates. When people are putting food on their plate, they tend to fill the entire plate regardless of how hungry they actually are. If people are given smaller plates, even if they fill these plates they will be eating much smaller portion sizes than normal.

Another tip that I found really fascinating was that when setting up a buffet style dinner, it is best to put the low calorie foods first on the table. Most people will fill up their plates at the beginning of the buffet without looking at all of their options. So if the low calorie options are presented first, people will fill their plates with those options and they will not eat as much of the high calorie foods. This mentality is also relevant when eating snacks. For example, people should put healthier snack options like fruits in easily reachable areas. The high calorie and sugary snacks should be put high up on shelves and this surprisingly has a large impact on people’s choices.

Overall I think that this was one of my favorite talks in a Becker Rose Cafe. I really enjoyed learning about the Food & Brand Lab. I liked hearing about the research that they do and it was nice knowing that I have contributed to some of their work in the past.

As an athlete, the decisions we make in the dining hall tend to be crucial. The food we eat is fueling us not only to get through our academic day, but also the practices and training that come afterwards. I have always had an interest in food and the way that people approach it. Being on a team for so many years, I have seen the impacts eating has on runners; either in a helpful or very harmful way. Because of this, I was interested in learning about the psychology behind our food decisions.
Based on lots of interesting studies, I learned some hints as to how exactly hit the dining halls. One thing we learned was to go for a smaller plate. Most times, people will eat until the plate is cleared. If you keep piling food onto that plate, it will be more than you need by a long shot. In addition to smaller plates, I also learned that your plate is most times covered by the things you see first in line. So, I know now to start with the vegetables and end with the protein. In addition to those, I also learned that the correct protein size is about the size of your palm. These are all things I will take into consideration as I make my way through the dining halls from now on. This talk was extremely interesting for me and I learned a lot about food and why we make the decisions we make.

Last Wednesday, I attended the Becker/Rose talk given by faculty members of the Cornell Food and Brand Lab, where I learned a great deal about the thought processes people have when making food choices. Being a very indecisive human being, I found it fascinating to learn just how much thought actually goes into each decision we make. We make thousands of decisions a day, and if I only struggle with one or two, I’d say that’s a pretty good track record…

While I found everything to be incredibly interesting (and validating), I couldn’t help but wonder whether such research was doing more harm than good. No doubt, we’re facing an obesity epidemic, and it’s important that we understand our thoughts around food if we want to change that. We must remember, however, that we are also facing an epidemic of eating disorders. Lying on the complete opposite end of the spectrum, ED’s stem from a desire for control which manifests itself as an obsession with food. For those suffering from ED’s, it is often a case of overthinking, and such research merely encourages that overly-analytical behavior. The speakers talked about how they use the results of their studies to influence consumers, but I think they would do well to look further into the effects of their work on those with eating disorders.

I know we can’t realistically shelter everyone from each new study comes out… But I do think we can be more careful about how we present the information.

Eat colorful foods. Avoid sugar. Drink water. Avoid process foods. Skip dessert. Count your carbs.

It’s harder said than done. On the average day, I could say I’m one of the healthier people on campus. The majority of my meal is vegetables and fruits ..Rice and beans if they look good. Occasionally I’ll have a piece of bread or pasta. If I have anything other than water, I’ll dilute it. Never sugar with my tea or coffee. I never snack on super processed foods.

But it’s the not so occasional cookie or scoop of ice cream that will get me.

After attending a talk presented by researchers at the Food & Brand Lab, I realized why. I grew up in a very strict vegetarian household. I’ve never eaten meat, nor do I feel like I should. It helps me lead a very healthy lifestyle because all of my food is colorful and has a high amount of unprocessed carbs, proteins, vitamins and minerals. I rarely eat anything deep fried. The researchers mentioned that as humans, we make hundreds of decisions a day. We make so many decisions, that when it comes to food, we associate it with comfort, and we don’t classify what we eat as an important decision as long as it tastes good and makes us feel content. Since I’ve grown up limiting my food groups, I’ve never had very unhealthy food choices in my choice pool.

However, when it comes to deserts, they are always placed in the front. And you think, well, one cookie wont hurt.

And then comes finals, when you go to the market and buy a bunch of snacks so that you have a constant stream of incoming comfort. Doesn’t matter what it is, doesn’t matter if you are full. This is because research shows that human beings are not a very good judge on how much they are eating, or how full they are.

In fact, here’s another take on the obesity problem in the United States. Studies show that the most common phrase spoken in America at the dining table is “clean your plate”. In America, we also happen to have very large plates. Thus, in one sitting we tend to eat a lot more than the average human in a different country. We learn to associate fullness with a clean plate. So we eat until our plate is clean.

So, here’s some helpful tips.

1. Grab a smaller plate.

2. Hide the junk food away.

3. Pre-package your snacks in boxes worth one or two servings.

And slowly you will be able to make eating a more conscious set of decisions in your life.

Last Wednesday, I attended the final Becker-Rose Café Series of the semester. Representatives of the Cornell Food & Brand Lab came to speak – David Just, Co-Director, Adam Brumberg, Researcher Specialist, and Gnel Gabrielyan, Post-doc Researcher. The researchers have different focus areas and target groups, but it seems that their main goals are to interdisciplinarily merge the fields of nutrition, behavior economics, and psychology, just to name a few.

For the past two semesters, I have walked past the Food & Brand Lab’s display cases in Warren Hall multiple times a week. It is hard not to notice the colorful posters and TV monitors documenting some of their experiments. There is one display in particular that always catches my eye. It is the one showing two-equally sized cookies with one on a larger plate and one on a smaller plate. A card above the plates reads, “Which one makes the cookie look larger?” Perhaps I am always a bit hungry when or walking by, or maybe it is the fact that the researchers look into really interesting questions like this one, but I always manage to take a glimpse of the display.

David, Adam, and Gnel shared some examples of studies that they have conducted and the outcomes of their results. For example, the simple act of placing large arrows on the ground directing grocery store shoppers to the produce section of the store actually resulted in the stores produce sales going up. It was a win-win because the grocery store then made more money selling produce and shoppers were purchasing more healthful foods. Another example that I found to be really neat was on buffet behavior. The “all-you-can-eat” probably gives some indication of what restaurant patrons will do at a buffet. However, there are ways to curb some of the eating, while still enjoying the buffet-style setting. One such method is to survey all of the food options first, then start filling up your plate. Another such method is to sit facing away from the food. Having noticed the increased listing of calories especially in fast food restaurants, I was fascinated to find out that having the calories displayed on menus can actually be detrimental to a person’s eating behavior. They may either ignore the calories or try to get their money’s worth instead.

A major theme that was raised was that of choice. Choice implies conscious decision-making. When we make a decision, the brain can feel happy because it knows that it made that choice. For instance, the researchers discussed how students did not really eat their carrots when given to them without a choice with their school lunch. However, when they were able to choose between carrots and celery, they more often chose the carrots and ate more of them. The act of choosing made a difference. The researchers seem to focus on the general population when they design their experiments, which makes sense. This made me think about those who cannot afford the luxury of such choices, whether it be for financial reasons, access reasons, etc. How would not being able to choose affect their eating habits and behavior or even their attitudes and perception towards food? We have a wonderful dining program at Cornell with numerous options. I think that it is easy to take this for granted.

The next time you are in a dining hall, try using a smaller plate. Also, definitely check out the Food & Brand Lab’s display in Warren Hall! The Lab has done so much influential work, such as apple slices and milk in Happy Meals. I wonder what they are going to study next!

The last Becker-Rose cafe was one of my favorites. It provided a valuable insight into what drives our food choices, and how we can affect our food choices. I am going to look at some of the best tips they gave.

They told us how we can use our food impulses to guide us. For example, putting healthy snacks like fruits in easy to reach places while putting high calorie snacks in far to reach places. The difference may seem small, but that small increase in effort necessary will cut your snacking on high sugar/high fat snacks by a lot.

Another tip is not to fall for those “low calorie” snacks. Yes, buy the lower fat/sodium alternatives, but don’t think that provides you a license to increase your snack portions. Often, you may end up in taking in the same amount of fat/sugar, or maybe even more than you would’ve with the original snack.

We also discussed the smaller plate initiative. You have most likely already heard of this as it has become quite popular. Very often, we aim to finish all the food on our plates as though we are completing an objective. Using the common large plates this can lead to overeating. If you grab a smaller plate, you will still have a filling meal, but you won’t feel groggy afterwards.

Using these tips, you can sharpen your diet to lead a healthier life.

The Cornell Food and Brand Lab is SO COOL! & so were the guests for this week’s Rose-Becker Cafe.

I learned about some interesting research they’ve done…..

1. In buffets, place the low-calorie food at the beginning of the table and the highest calorie food at the end because people will fill most of their plate with the first 3 items.

2. If you give someone something without a choice, they won’t think about how much they like/ appreciate it. (Happens with everything right? Not just food) But if you give them a choice between two items like carrots and celery, you start thinking about both of them and there you develop a preference for one. Once you choose it, you eat it to validate your decision. Now I know to ask my brothers whether they want to eat Salad A or Salad B instead of just making them eat salad, haha.

3. We make most of our choices through habit or convenience and we make over 200 food decisions a day. (I’m pretty sure I think about food more than anything else)

4. Men eat more when they’re with girls to impress them….. (but doesn’t this backfire because they will have a bigger bill to pay)

5. Food is comfort. Well I already knew that, but its finals week so this is ESPECIALLY relevant.

On December 7th, a panel of Food and Brand Lab experts came to the Becker-Rose Café and introduce us to their interesting works on behavioral psychology related to food. Some of their research areas include grocery shopping psychology, marketing nutrition, restaurant confidential. I found all of their findings to be highly intriguing. For example, they explained how when people go into a buffet, they usually get the food in the order they are presented. For example, when they see salad or vegetables and bread in the beginning of the buffet line, people will naturally get a lot of salad and bread. When they get to the end of the line, where they see proteins, they will no longer have a lot of room on their plates. Therefore, if people are always guided to the salad bar first when they are in the buffet, they will more likely eat more vegetables, less meat and have a healthier meal as a result.

I think the above concept can be also applied in Cornell dining halls. In our dining halls, the salad bar is usually separated from the lines for the entree. Because of the line for the entree is usually longer than that for the salad, I usually line up for the entree first in case the line gets any longer. As a result, I always filled my plates with more proteins than I needed. Sometimes, I do not even have room for salad or vegetables. Therefore, I believe if the dining halls can have all the food in one line, and have salad in the beginning of the line, it can help me and many other students to eat more healthily.

Another interesting finding that the Food and Brand Lab had was the effect of NYC Mayor Bloomberg’s Sugary Drinks Portion Cap Rule. In the study, they had participants fill out surveys and participants were provided soda drinks when they were filling out the surveys. The experimental group received surveys with Mayor Bloomberg’s image printed on them and the control group had regular surveys. Turns out, the experimental groups drink more soda during the experiment than the control group who have no Bloomberg’s image on their surveys. It appeared that people’s reaction towards Mayor Bloomberg’s soda rule actually resulted in negative effect on their sugary-drink consumption. People are angry at Mayor Bloomberg’s restricting rule and thus their annoyance cause their rebellious feeling to drink more of the soda. I thought that study was absolutely thought-provoking. Rules are made to help people but if resentment are developed towards the rules, opposite results may occur. There was many controversies over whether Mayor Bloomberg’s soda rule is necessary. The study perhaps contribute to another reasons why it should indeed not be implemented.

This Becker/Rose Café was very intriguing. Many theories and studies regarding food and behavioral economics. One theory that the panel discussed was how people fill their plate with food while on a buffet line. The reason that during Rose House dinners there are mostly healthy options towards the front of the table because according to the panel, people usually fill their plates up to 60% with the first three items on a buffet table. Since the plate is filled with a majority of healthy food, there is less room for the not as healthy options. It is essentially a subconscious trick into getting people to eat healthier. Another topic discussed in the café was the debate about the banning of large soda drinks in NYC. My opinion on this is that the consumer should be allowed to spend their money on whatever they want to buy. If someone wants to buy a 16oz soda or sugary drink after a hard day at work they should be allowed to even though there may be negative health ramifications. I mean look at cigarettes. They are known to have very harmful health effects and yet there are really no restrictions on how many cigarettes someone could buy. The only restrictions are the age you can purchase them and that prices have been increased. It is intriguing to note that the panel mentioned that sales for soda actually increased as a result of the law. Possibly people bought an increased number of smaller quantities of soda. One possible solution is just an overall price increase to soda products. The option to buy is still available, but the high prices discourage the consumers.

Last Wednesday night we joined 3 guest speakers in a panel about interesting facts in food choices. To start with, they introduced their study fields and some stories in their research. One interesting fact that I learned is that different signals can have different significant influence on people’s behaviors when they are making a decision on food choices. For example, the distance that you place food determines the convenience of reaching it. This gives a signal to us and the one that is closer to us will be eaten at a higher frequency. So if you are on a diet, do not place chips nearby. Hah.

Another experiment that was mentioned during the panel is also thought-provoking. In this experiment, researchers gave the first group of children directly the carrots. The other group of children was given different choices among vegetables. Surprisingly, the result shows that the group that was given different choices consume more carrots than the other group. One explanation of this experiment is that the children that were allowed to choose among different vegetables had to make a decision among vegetables and the process of making a decision was a process in which these children kept convincing themselves of the choice they had made. Once the decision was made they will be committed to it and use actions to “prove” it is right. Therefore, they have a tendency to have more carrots. I think this result has great significance in leading consumers behaviors.

Additionally, one fact that is really fun is that one professor said they can track the consumption of food all around Cornell throughout the year. They found that unhealthy food consumption was going up in a certain semester. Then, a peak will be reached in the week of final exams. Afterwards, it seemed “reset” and everything went back to normal. It is a reminder of us that even in the exam week, just do not forget to EAT HEALTHY! Hah, wish you all have a nice final week!

Researchers from the Cornell Food & Brand Lab came and talked to us about their work and discovery regarding food. The type of science and work that the lab seems to perform is somewhat interesting, in that the focus isn’t necessarily on the chemistry of the foods, but involves the psychology of the consumption of food. The discussion featured many cool facts and discoveries. For example, there was some emphasis on the amount of choices an individual should have when entering a buffet or dining hall. The researchers spent time investigating this subject because they wanted to determine what amount optimized factors such as a healthy distribution of nutrition and the degree of variety that was actually consumed. Interestingly enough, they discovered that to encourage variety and risk-taking from individuals in these buffets or dining halls, having too many options actually deters people from seeking variety in the meal, since they don’t want to spend the effort to look at everything and thus default to what is familiar.

I think food labs of this sort have a great deal of value to our society. A significant issue facing a large chunk of our population is the consistent consumption of healthy foods. Consciously, I think most people can have a healthy meal once in a while, but to eat healthily on a consistent basis requires, in my opinion, an environment and setting that subconsciously encourages an individual to pursue healthier options. I think food labs can definitely help to tackle problems like these!

It was a real treat to hear from the Food and Brand Lab experts this Wednesday at the Becker/Rose Café. Hearing about their studies and ongoing work left me thinking by all the environmental factors that play a role in our decision-making processes–particularly when it comes to food. Moreover, the café has inspired me to look more into both behavioral economics and behavioral psychology.

As someone who tries to maintain healthy eating habits, I found the various tips and findings quite helpful (e.g. not going grocery shopping when I’m hungry, keeping unhealthy food options on the counter, etc.) Though I’ve been aware of the strategies used by fast-food and grocery store chains, I never really stopped to consider how practices within my own kitchen can inform certain eating habits/behaviors. Usually after I go grocery shopping, I’ll place non-refrigerated food on my countertop and, subsequently, pick at it every time I walk by the counter. Such behavior always results in my food supply decreasing at exponential rates, which is not good for my weight or my bank account…

Going forward, I am determined to alter certain “food” behaviors and be more conscious about how my environment affects what I eat, how much I eat and when I eat. I plan to fill my countertop with fruits and granola bars instead of cookies and chips.

Attending the Food and Brand Lab talk this week made me cognizant of our little effort humans put into eating, especially when we are tired. It was surprising to learn that in a buffet, the three items first lined up are the three items that people will fill up their plate most with. Additionally, I got an understanding of why the house dinner buffets are set up the way they are. The healthy items such as salad and vegetables appear first so that people fill up their plate with that first and with the protein left for last, they are likely to take less of it since their plate is already full with other items.

I also appreciated some of the tips given for healthier/less eating. It is recommending that junk food remain out of sight and be hidden away in cabinets or drawers. The less convenient it is to access, the better because every step required to access the junk food is a deterrent. Fruits and vegetables should be in the forefront.

A tip for eating less when eating as family for meals is to place all the vegetables and salads on the table and leave the carbs and protein items in the stove so extra effort will be required to get seconds. This way, at the end, if you still want to eat more, you’ll be more likely to just reach for the healthy food on the table than get up and the fatty items for seconds.

I had heard about the Food and Brand Lab prior to the Café talk this week, but did not know much about their research. I was glad to have the opportunity to learn more about their research and was not disappointed by the discussion.

The talk about the Food and Brand Lab was interesting and somewhat disturbing. It was disturbing to learn how little thought we put into our food choices even though those choices have a major impact on our health. Since there are so many choices to make regarding food choices, people have to rely on convince and habit to deal with all the possible decisions.

I was very interested in the discussion of how “the best diet is the one that you don’t know you are on.” It was amazing to hear stories about how slightly altering the presentation or possible choices of food can change how people eat. For example, the researchers discussed an experiment about children eating carrots during lunch. One group of children were not given a choice of vegetable and were required to take carrots. The other group was given the choice of either carrots or celery. The group that was given the choice of carrots or celery mostly chose the carrots and consumed more of these carrots. This is an amazing example of how psychology can be used to get people to eat healthier foods without telling them that they must eat the healthier foods.

Another interesting example was the proposed large soda ban in New York City. The researchers suggested that this ban backfired because people do not like to be told what they can and can’t eat. According to their research, soda sales in the New York City area actually increased during the time that the soda ban was being debated.

The researchers also gave an example of putting large arrows on the floor of super market pointing to the produce in order to get people to buy more fruits and vegetables. I was amazed that such a simple idea could get people to eat healthier foods.b

The Food and Brand Lab was a great final Rose Scholars event for the semester!

This week, the guests at the Rose/Becker cafe were three gentlemen from the Cornell Food and Brand Lab.  The talk began with the three of them giving a brief overview of what they do and how they started doing it.  All three of them had different backgrounds, but they all had very interesting stories of their job.  The first speaker started off by saying that he did behavioral economics, summarizing it as how people make mistakes and do things that are not in their best interests.  I thought that this was a very interesting way of putting it.  People make mistakes and do things not in their best interests all the time, and the fact that people study this and can affect it is really interesting.  We then went on to learn that behavioral economics is very important in food choice.  Choosing what to and to not eat is a big part of our daily lives, and there are lots of factors that can affect it.

The hook that was given at the beginning was regarding the Bloomberg Soda policy that went in effect in New York City in the recent past.  Sodas of 20 liters in size were not allowed to be sold in certain locations, to try to combat obesity.  However, it did not work as well as anticipated, and actually more soda was sold in the NYC area after the law went into effect, due to some anger at Bloomberg.  We learned about a study that had been done about this law and how it effected people.  Just seeing a picture of Bloomberg in a survey led people to drink more soda during the survey.  It’s really interesting how much our subconscious plays into our actions regarding food and drink and how much different things can effect it.

When the next speaker on the panel began introducing himself, he also told us a small anecdote, this one regarding buffets.  Apparently, people usually fill their plates up to 60% with the first three items on a buffet table.  Rose house, for example, has lots of salads and vegetables at the starting end of the buffet for house dinner, leading us to fill our plates with vegetables and salad before getting to the meats and starches.  This is a very useful trick to encourage people to eat healthier.  This was just one example of some of the so many environmental factors affecting what we eat.  A question that was posed by one of the panelists was how much of our food choices are really conscious decisions?  The buffet example is one that shows that we have make fewer conscious food decisions at some times than we would expect.

Two more anecdotes that were mentioned to us, both of which I thought were very interesting, have to do with our perception of food.  The first example was regarding strawberry yogurt.  People were given yogurt with chocolate in it, with a label that said strawberry yogurt.  When asked how much strawberries were in the yogurt, all answered that there were some in it, even though there were actually none.  This showed how just seeing a label affects how we taste food and what we think about it.  The second anecdote was regarding choice of foods.  Children, when given carrots as their vegetable at a meal, had a 70% rate of eating it.  However, when given a choice of celery or carrots, 90% of the children ate their chosen vegetable (mainly carrots).  This was because of the subconscious need to prove that the right choice had been made.

At this point in the session, the floor was opened up to questions.  I appreciated the slightly personal questions that were asked, about how much their work affected how they eat and the decisions they make in their eating and buying of food.  One of the changes one of the panelists admitted to making in his daily life because of his studies was keeping healthier snacks out on a table, while the less healthy snacks were in a cabinet and harder to get.  This takes advantage of our general laziness as humans.  Another way to take advantage of laziness is to keep the low calorie, high nutrient food on the table during dinner (fruit, salad, etc), and leave the meat and lasagna stuff in the kitchen, where you have to get up to get it.

Near the end of the talk (I had to leave 15 minutes early, so didn’t catch the end), a question was asked about whether the panelists had ever done a study on blind people.  This question was particularly interesting, because one of the biggest things we learned over the course of this talk was that visual cues are very important in food.  It would be very interesting to see how blind people are affected by these studies.  Overall, I was very interested by this talk and felt that I learned a lot.  I will try to take some of the anecdotes I heard tonight from their various studies and apply them to my life to help me eat healthier.

Mere moments before the Cafe with the Food and Branding Lab, we were all sitting in Rose House Dinner. Many of us knew that we would be going to the Cafe focused on food after dinner. We did not know that our actions at dinner would be the subject for the Cafe that followed.

At the Cafe, I learned why I eat what I eat. It apparently has very little to do with how hungry I am. Instead, I eat based on what is put in front of me. It seems kind of obvious, but it had not occurred to me before.

The three men at the Cafe told us all about the food branding trends they had researched. Many of those trends have manifested in my own life within the last day. These researchers predicted the composition of my plate without having seen it. All in all, I was left feeling that psychology is kind of amazing.

The most accurate study I heard at the Cafe involved the trends of Cornell students purchases over the course of the semester. Apparently, as the semester progresses, we buy more and more junk food. The peaks of junk food purchases happen right before Fall Break and during finals. This happens to correlate with when most students experience the highest levels of stress. Its good to know that I’m not the only one who is stress eating.

Overall, the Cafe was very interesting. I learned that my own behavior falls into some common trends. I also learned that there are ways to influence these trends, for good or evil.

At the final Becker/Rose Cafe series, I met three members of the Cornell Food & Brand Lab, a research division of the University that studies eating patterns and how to subtly shift those patterns towards making healthier choices. I remember from last year’s events that there was a talk about branding patterns in yogurt marketing, and I expected this talk to be pretty similar, but I actually liked this one much more.

The researchers told us about experiments they conduct in order to see how people choose to eat what they do, specifically at buffets and such, and found that when buffets (not unlike those at house dinner) are organized such that the healthier items come first, patrons are more likely to fill their plate up with healthier foods before getting to the high calorie main courses. And when people are given the choice between two different vegetables, they’re more likely to eat their choice rather than eat the vegetables on their own.

Personally, I don’t entirely feel the effect of the branding techniques. I consider myself very aware of what I put on my plate, and very aware of my eating patterns. Not in a bad way, but I make an effort to represent all food groups at every meal, cut down on carbs as much as I can, have a salad every day, etc. So I don’t know how the experiments done in the branding lab would work on me. But, I do see people in the dining hall every day, grabbing pizza, pasta, breadsticks and a cookie, all on the same plate and that’s dinner, which I find ridiculous. Some people coast through the dining hall and pick up only what they want, which of course would be the unhealthier, taste-goodier options. To some extent I think the kinds of psychological trickery these guys are researching could benefit these kinds of people, making their unconscious decisions for them. I don’t want to sound like a jerk, but I also don’t think anyone is mean enough to criticize another person’s bad eating habits directly, so if we can change people without them knowing it, that’s the best plan yet.

At this week’s House Dinner, I stood in the buffet line- like normal. I picked up the bread, and then the vegetable options and salad, and then managed to squeeze in some pasta and chicken. Before this week’s Becker-Rose Café, I didn’t give the order of the buffet any attention. However, the gentlemen from Cornell University’s Food & Brand Lab revealed that this was an intentional environmental design.

Except for the bread, the most nutritious, lowest calorie foods were at the front of the line. Therefore, students- by nature- are going to fill up a majority of their plate with this healthful food. Imagine if the pasta and proteins were first in the buffet line. The plates around the dining room would look much different.

This is an example choice architecture. At Cornell’s Food & Brand lab, researchers focus on guiding people to pick healthier food options without taking away their option of less healthy foods. They strive to have consumers pick healthier foods by free choice.

As a student in the Hotel School, I found this intersection of behavioral economics and food intake extremely interesting! We subconsciously make over 200 choices regarding our diet every day, and the studies at the Food & Brand Lab study how to keep the power of choice in consumers’ hands while prodding them towards healthier options.