Default Settings, Radical Outcomes

 Katie Cantrell and the Quiet Power of Institutional Change

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About the Guest

Katie Cantrell is a social entrepreneur passionate about creating a healthy, sustainable, and just food system. As the founder of the New Roots Institute, Katie spent a decade leading food policy workshops at universities, government agencies, and Fortune 500 corporations. As the CEO and co-founder of Greener by Default, she is now utilizing her expertise to implement plant-based defaults in institutional foodservice. Katie holds a Bachelor’s degree in psychology from UC Berkeley. Her work with GBD was recently featured in the New York Times, and she was chosen for Vox’s Future Perfect 50 list of innovators, thinkers, and changemakers for 2024.

About this episode

Katie Cantrell wants to change the way we eat—without changing how we think.

She’s using behavioral science to redesign institutional food systems from the inside out. In this episode, Katie explains how flipping the default from meat to plant-based—without restricting choice—can quietly transform millions of meals, cut emissions, and reshape food culture. From corporate cafeterias to New York City hospitals, we unpack how small shifts in context can lead to big change.

Key Takeaways

  1. Behavioral science over persuasion: Greener by Default is grounded in behavioral economics, using defaults and nudges—not education campaigns—to change eating habits.

  2. From education to systems change: Katie transitioned from advocacy and awareness (via FFAC/New Roots Institute) to structural interventions after realizing facts don’t drive behavior as effectively as context does.

  3. Big impact, quietly delivered: Their work with NYC Health + Hospitals has already transitioned over 2 million meals from meat-based to plant-based—cutting carbon emissions by a third and saving $500,000 annually.

  4. Scaling through partnerships: With Sodexo now expanding their model to 400+ hospitals, the strategy could shift 10 million meals per year, proving it’s scalable and replicable.

  5. Defaults normalize flexitarianism: Offering plant-based meals first (without calling them “vegan”) helps reduce the identity barrier to choosing meatless options.

  6. One-size-fits-none: From tech bros scanning menus for “bacon” to hospitals with diverse patient populations, Katie emphasizes how deeply context and culture shape food decisions.

  7. Whole foods > alternatives: Amid consumer skepticism, Greener by Default mostly works with minimally processed proteins like lentils, tofu, and beans—not alternative protein startups.