Last Wednesday, I attended the Becker-Rose Café featuring David Just, Gnel Gabrielyan and Adam Brumberg from the Cornell Food & Brand Lab. It was interesting to just listen about all of the different research that has been done in terms of what sorts of choices we make about food. While some things seemed obvious, like don’t go grocery shopping while hungry, I didn’t know that the type of food you ate before shopping also made a difference. Apparently, if you eat junk food right before, you will be more inclined to make unhealthy choices while shopping. Another part of grocery shopping I hadn’t considered was that it is actually in the interest of the store to sell more healthy options of their produce because it has a short shelf-life and it costs a little more. I would have never thought that a few green arrows on the ground pointing towards produce could affect consumption habits.

At one point, someone asked if the wealth of research being done on consumption choices could be used for evil, and of course, the answer was yes. But it really made me think. At one point, one of the speakers said that sometimes they’ll ask themselves, what would McDonald’s do? They talked about how effective McDonald’s was at helping guide better food choices, like providing apple slices in happy meals, and also some more dubious things, like reintroducing the McRib over and over again. I sat there thinking about other initiatives McDonald’s is good at, and not so good at, pushing. While salads are available as part of multiple healthier options, most people don’t go to McDonald’s for salads. While research would suggest that only one healthy menu item would deter people from buying it over many unhealthy choices, it seems like brains behind McDonald’s still haven’t overcome the strange stigma of going to McDonald’s and just ordering salad. Another interesting fast food fact that was shared was that people on diets who end up eating unhealthily can make even worse decisions than the average non-dieting consumer, because if they are going to take a cheat day, they might as well make the most of it.

Near the end of the talk, I found it interesting to hear that most people felt full when they finished their plate, and that’s one reason why plate size effects how much you consume. Perhaps it’s because I didn’t grow up eating from plates, but I never felt like finishing what I could physically see as mine meant anything to me feeling full. We refilled our bowls at home until we felt physically satisfied with the amount of food we ate, and while it was customary to finish the food you got for yourself, that was never the indication of being full. Perhaps this is a different between those who typically use plates to eat served food and those who don’t, or perhaps I’m just imposing my personal experience onto an overly-broad generalization with no actual basis.