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But a new study suggests restaurants can sell them by the bucket load – by giving them more appetizing, descriptive names.
Using names like 'Juicy American' or 'smoky Aussie' for vegan burgers can make people choose them over the real meat equivalents, experts in Australia found.
Plant-based food companies and restaurants may need to get more creative if they want to encourage meat-lovers to reduce their intake and help save the planet.
Cutting down on animal products can improve our health but also that of the planet, as livestock farming at scale destroys habitats and pumps out CO2 and methane.
- 'Juicy smoky American burger'
- 'Delicious Aussie burger'
- 'Aussie sausages and buttery mash'
- 'Scrumptious succulent Aussie parmigiana'
'Altering the names of plant-based meals on restaurant menus significantly increases the food’s appeal,' said study author Danyelle Greene at University of Queensland.
'A simple change such as renaming a "vegan burger" to a "Juicy American burger" could increase plant-based orders and encourage meat-eaters to give vegan options a go.'
The researchers say environmentally friendly meals that are rich in plant matter tend to be described in restaurants with unappealing names.
In comparison, language used in the top 100 most profitable US restaurants to describe meat-heavy meals are more likely to be described as 'American', 'tasty' or 'juicy', a 2017 paper found.
For their new study, the experts wanted to find out if using appealing meal names could persuade people to order more plant-based meals in restaurants.
From an initial online survey of 537 participants, they identified a range of alternative names for classic Australian pub dishes, such as burgers, lasange and parmigiana.
The second part of study involved a simulated restaurant experiment where 312 participants ordered one of four meals based off the name assigned to each – either appealing or unappealing.
The meals were not specifically labelled as vegan or vegetarian (unless these were included in the original names of the dishes), although each meal had a detailed ingredients list.
As expected, having descriptive adjectives in the names of dishes made people more inclined to order them, whether the dishes were plant-based or not.
For example, 'juicy Aussie burger' was more enticing than simply 'beef burger' or 'vegan burger', while 'tasty Italian vegetable lasagne' was better than just 'vegetable lasagne'.
Finally, the third part of the included 898 participants, all separated into different groups of meat eaters, who were surveyed on how the appealing names affected their choices.
Overall, researchers found that dish names that highlight food flavour, texture, and place of origin can positively influence the appeal of plant-based meals.
Crucially, meat-eaters opted for the vegan food with a descriptive name when the name for the meat version was more boring.
But this wasn't the case across all groups of meat eaters; for example, 'uncompromising meat eaters' were less likely to opt for the vegan option despite a name change.
The team admit that the effect is stronger among meat-eater groups that identify as environmentally or health-oriented.
But this group is increasingly making up a bigger and bigger proportion of people who eat meat, so the authors hope their findings could have an effect in the real world.
'We conclude that using appealing names for plant-based dishes on restaurant menus may represent a cost-effective way to entice specific market segments of consumers to choose plant-based rather than meat-based dishes when dining,' they say.
'With food contributing nearly 25 per cent to global emissions, changing meal choices for even the smallest of market segments can make a meaningful contribution to climate change mitigation.'
The new study has been published in Elsevier journal Food Quality and Preference.
Would YOU order one? Scientists claim we should rename vegan burgers 'Juicy American burgers' to make them more appealing to meat lovers
'Plant-based burger' may not sound like the most appealing dish on a menu board.But a new study suggests restaurants can sell them by the bucket load – by giving them more appetizing, descriptive names.
Using names like 'Juicy American' or 'smoky Aussie' for vegan burgers can make people choose them over the real meat equivalents, experts in Australia found.
Plant-based food companies and restaurants may need to get more creative if they want to encourage meat-lovers to reduce their intake and help save the planet.
Cutting down on animal products can improve our health but also that of the planet, as livestock farming at scale destroys habitats and pumps out CO2 and methane.
More appealing names for vegan food can entice meat-eaters
- 'Juicy American burger'- 'Juicy smoky American burger'
- 'Delicious Aussie burger'
- 'Aussie sausages and buttery mash'
- 'Scrumptious succulent Aussie parmigiana'
'Altering the names of plant-based meals on restaurant menus significantly increases the food’s appeal,' said study author Danyelle Greene at University of Queensland.
'A simple change such as renaming a "vegan burger" to a "Juicy American burger" could increase plant-based orders and encourage meat-eaters to give vegan options a go.'
The researchers say environmentally friendly meals that are rich in plant matter tend to be described in restaurants with unappealing names.
In comparison, language used in the top 100 most profitable US restaurants to describe meat-heavy meals are more likely to be described as 'American', 'tasty' or 'juicy', a 2017 paper found.
For their new study, the experts wanted to find out if using appealing meal names could persuade people to order more plant-based meals in restaurants.
From an initial online survey of 537 participants, they identified a range of alternative names for classic Australian pub dishes, such as burgers, lasange and parmigiana.
The second part of study involved a simulated restaurant experiment where 312 participants ordered one of four meals based off the name assigned to each – either appealing or unappealing.
The meals were not specifically labelled as vegan or vegetarian (unless these were included in the original names of the dishes), although each meal had a detailed ingredients list.
As expected, having descriptive adjectives in the names of dishes made people more inclined to order them, whether the dishes were plant-based or not.
For example, 'juicy Aussie burger' was more enticing than simply 'beef burger' or 'vegan burger', while 'tasty Italian vegetable lasagne' was better than just 'vegetable lasagne'.
Finally, the third part of the included 898 participants, all separated into different groups of meat eaters, who were surveyed on how the appealing names affected their choices.
Overall, researchers found that dish names that highlight food flavour, texture, and place of origin can positively influence the appeal of plant-based meals.
Crucially, meat-eaters opted for the vegan food with a descriptive name when the name for the meat version was more boring.
But this wasn't the case across all groups of meat eaters; for example, 'uncompromising meat eaters' were less likely to opt for the vegan option despite a name change.
The team admit that the effect is stronger among meat-eater groups that identify as environmentally or health-oriented.
But this group is increasingly making up a bigger and bigger proportion of people who eat meat, so the authors hope their findings could have an effect in the real world.
'We conclude that using appealing names for plant-based dishes on restaurant menus may represent a cost-effective way to entice specific market segments of consumers to choose plant-based rather than meat-based dishes when dining,' they say.
'With food contributing nearly 25 per cent to global emissions, changing meal choices for even the smallest of market segments can make a meaningful contribution to climate change mitigation.'
The new study has been published in Elsevier journal Food Quality and Preference.
