Intriguing idea, thanks for sharing. In general think it’s worth at least doing some tentative exploration all ideas to increasing the popularity of plant-based diets.
There seems to be an implicit assumption in your post that courses/coaching on plant-based eating will either increase the probability that somebody adopts a plant-based diet, or increases the probability that they stick with it. Has this assumption been tested, to your knowledge? It could also be that this intervention would mostly reach people who are keen on plant-based eating anyway, which is why I think it’d be good to test these assumptions in reality (pilot study or similar).
You might also get some useful feedback by sharing this idea with the RECAP group (https://www.recapresearch.org/join-recap) or Faunalytics, if you haven’t already, as both of those groups have people thinking along these lines. I also mention this because—in my opinion—we should be focusing on whatever plant-based interventions appear to work the best. So, for this idea to be deserving of resources (in the long-term, after the idea is tested) it would also need to be shown that this idea works as well as, or better than, other plant-based interventions available to us. (Admittedly, I’m not sure what the best plant-based interventions are right now, but Faunalytics has loads of research on this.)
It’s true that it is an implicit assumption that courses will increase plant based eating. That must be tested yes.
As I’ve held courses about subjects like security and nutrition, I keep noticing that the participants that freely join are not those that need it the most—but, as you say, those who already have an interest for the subject. I feel like you have to “pry” knowledge like this into people that are not genuinely interested in it—by incentivising them. So yes the target audience would not be those who already have a lean towards a PBD.
I’ll forward this post to both RECAP and Faunalytics and get their opinion. Indeed I’m now curious what the best proved plant based interventions are.
Intriguing idea, thanks for sharing. In general think it’s worth at least doing some tentative exploration all ideas to increasing the popularity of plant-based diets.
There seems to be an implicit assumption in your post that courses/coaching on plant-based eating will either increase the probability that somebody adopts a plant-based diet, or increases the probability that they stick with it. Has this assumption been tested, to your knowledge? It could also be that this intervention would mostly reach people who are keen on plant-based eating anyway, which is why I think it’d be good to test these assumptions in reality (pilot study or similar).
You might also get some useful feedback by sharing this idea with the RECAP group (https://www.recapresearch.org/join-recap) or Faunalytics, if you haven’t already, as both of those groups have people thinking along these lines. I also mention this because—in my opinion—we should be focusing on whatever plant-based interventions appear to work the best. So, for this idea to be deserving of resources (in the long-term, after the idea is tested) it would also need to be shown that this idea works as well as, or better than, other plant-based interventions available to us. (Admittedly, I’m not sure what the best plant-based interventions are right now, but Faunalytics has loads of research on this.)
Thank you for your thoughtful comment.
It’s true that it is an implicit assumption that courses will increase plant based eating. That must be tested yes.
As I’ve held courses about subjects like security and nutrition, I keep noticing that the participants that freely join are not those that need it the most—but, as you say, those who already have an interest for the subject. I feel like you have to “pry” knowledge like this into people that are not genuinely interested in it—by incentivising them. So yes the target audience would not be those who already have a lean towards a PBD.
I’ll forward this post to both RECAP and Faunalytics and get their opinion. Indeed I’m now curious what the best proved plant based interventions are.