Deceiving supermarket consumers to do good

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Nowadays, we are used to consuming whatever we want, whenever we want. Unfortunately this lifestyle has devastating consequences for the environment as well as our own health. This is very clearly seen in our diets. The most common western diet is an energy heavy, polluting, unhealthy one, that needs to change to be more healthy, more sustainable, more animal-friendly, and so on.

A shift in mentality is needed to change the western population’s behaviour. But changing people’s mentality is a very slow process. Is it even possible to change fast enough?

But there are other ways to change, without the need of a changed mentality. People can be tricked into good behaviour.

Today, people are tricked in many ways to buy processed products that are profitable and have a bad influence on their health. What if we used the same tricks the other way around? What if we deceived people into buying sustainable food options that nurture their bodies? Could that be a solution? We would be tricking people into good behaviour without them having to take their own responsibility. But if we go down that path, how far can we go?

Because an important question is then to what degree people have a personal responsibility to care for their own bodies as well as the environment. And if we want to make a shortcut to change people’s behaviour faster than their mindset, who is deciding on what behaviour is desirable?

About Charlotte de Wit and packaging design
Charlotte de Wit is –in cooperation with TU Delft Library- the designer of the exhibition: What do we eat? Deceptions in food packaging design which can be visited in the TU library from June 6th till July 8th. It aims to demonstrate how consumers are tricked by the food industry to buy products. Charlotte used the same tricks to design a package that makes people consume less environmentally bad meat. Charlotte de Wit is an (honour)student of the ID faculty. She has been working with food, design and art her entire life. After finishing her bachelor Mechanical Engineering Cum Laude at the TU Delft, she started the master Integrated product Design. She soon joined the Food and eating design lab.

Organised in cooperation with TU Delft Library in the context of the exhibition “What do we eat? –  Deceptions in food packaging design” 5-6 till 9-07, 2019.

• More information about the Exhibition: <link library over-the-library tu-delft-library-presenteert what-do-we-eat _blank>tudelft.nl/library.