In the Spring 2011 edition of Food Ethics, contributors including public health and sustainability experts assess the government’s moves to ‘nudge’ the public towards healthier and greener lives.
Whilst they agree that the science behind nudge theory can be very effective in encouraging healthier and greener behaviour, they say that it should complement and enhance more traditional approaches to policy, not simply replace them.
From structural issues to red tape, from institutional to individual changes, contributors to this edition of Food Ethics highlight the strengths and weaknesses of nudge-based policy-making.
Authors include Michael Hallsworth (Institute of Government and co-author of MINDSPACE, a report on behavioural economics for the Cabinet Office), Anthony Kessell (Director of Public Health at the Health Protection Agency), Sue Dibb (Sustainable Development Commission), Melanie Leech (Food and Drink Federation), Mark Baird (Diageo), and Tom Crompton of WWF-UK.