Why we’re still eating meat
I've recently returned from Birmingham, where I gave a keynote presentation on the benefits of eating meat to the British Society of Animal Sciences. Hearing from other speakers, about improvements to animal production, the polarisation of public and media opinion, and the role of livestock in developing countries, made me ponder where we are going with this debate.
On one side of the argument are arranged the forces of climate action, advocating diets that range from 100% vegan to mostly plant-based. We are told that giving up meat is the most important change we can make to avoid ecological disaster. On the other side, are supporters of the continued inclusion of animal foods in our diets, pointing out that humans are naturally omnivorous and 'it's not the cow but the how'. Both make good points but where do consumers stand?
Consumer surveys
The Smart Protein project surveyed 6882 European consumers in 2021 finding a strong interest in plant-based food products but, remarkably, more than six in ten respondents still view themselves as omnivore with just 1-3% vegan. Around 20-40%, depending on the country, are flexitarian. However, when asked to look to the future, 72% said they planned to eat more or the same amount of dairy, while 62% said this about meat and poultry.
Polling company, YouGov, has been tracking UK adults' dietary choices since 2019. The latest data, from January 2023, show that 3% are vegan, 5% are lacto-ovo vegetarian while 71% are meat-eating. This is almost exactly the same proportion as in 2019 despite widespread publicity urging the public to give up meat.
So, while consumers are interested in trying plant-based alternatives to cheese, eggs, meat and fish, they are not really sold on the idea of doing this long-term or giving up animal foods entirely. A study on retail data found that sales of plant-based products were boosted during Veganuary before falling back to around 15% higher than the pre-intervention period. However, there was no change in meat sales suggesting that consumers purchased vegan options on top of their usual meat shop.
Polarisation set to continue
Barriers to switching from an omnivorous diet to a plant-based diet include taste, acceptability, cost and lack of appropriate cooking skills. Research shows that younger and new adopters of vegan diets are more likely to eat ultra-processed plant-based products instead of cooking from scratch with beans, pulses, soya and vegetables. This can lead to higher intakes of salt and sugar, as well as unnecessary packaging.
It’s going to take more than guilt trips and climate scares to force the general public to give up meat, fish, eggs and dairy. Some of this may also be scepticism about the validity of claims that our eating habits are killing the planet when we see all around us the detrimental effects of excess energy use, transport, industry and manufacturing.
The polarisation of dietary beliefs seems likely to continue as long as people still want to eat a varied diet that includes animal foods.
For more information about the science and ethics of eating meat, check out this free issue of Animal Frontiers journal https://academic.oup.com/af/issue