Communicating biodiversity: How comics vs. informational messages influence food choice

Our current food systems substantially contribute to biodiversity loss. As consumers commonly lack awareness of the link between food choices and biodiversity, effective information provision and communication are crucial. Stories, especially comics, can be engaging, persuasive, and accessible to large audiences. This makes them promising tools for science communication. Therefore, we developed three comics aimed at raising awareness of the link between food choices and biodiversity within a story format. As metaphors facilitate understanding of complex topics, we compared the persuasive effects of these three comics with an informational text containing a metaphor and one informational text without a metaphor. In an online mixed design study, participants were randomly assigned to either one of three comic conditions or one of the two control conditions (information or information plus metaphor). Before and after reading, attitudes towards biodiversity, intention to eat biodiverse dishes, and a hypothetical food choice were recorded. In addition, narrative transportation, perceived quality of information and knowledge were assessed. The findings revealed that all five communication materials significantly influenced biodiversity attitudes, intentions, and food choices. However, the comics induced greater attitude change compared to the informational texts, an effect mediated by narrative transportation. While the materials varied in perceived information quality, there were no significant differences in knowledge scores. The study provides new insights into the persuasive effects of communication materials for biodiversity and their potential as effective intervention tools to alter consumers’ food choices and make them more sustainable.