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.