A third of Brits say they have cut down on the amount of meat they eat during the last 12 months, according to a new study.
A further one in ten said they are considering reducing meat intake or cutting it out completely, the survey found. Entitled British Social Attitudes, the report was conducted by social research institute NatCen on behalf of The Vegetarian Society.
'We commissioned this research because, for some time, we have noticed people are positively engaging with the idea of eating less meat, but until now there has been little academic evidence to support this,” said Lynne Elliot, chief executive of the Vegetarian Society.
'This report very much reflects what we see every day in our work: that there is an increasing awareness of the issues relating to our food choices, and that has resulted in a large number of people reducing the amount of meat they eat or cutting it out altogether.
'Vegetarian options are an easy, healthy and tasty way to eat – and it's clearly an option being enjoyed by a large section of the population.'
Asked why they were considering reducing meat intake, most people cited ‘health reasons’, followed by saving money, concerns about animal welfare, and concerns over food safety in relation to meat. Just over one in ten people in this group mentioned environmental concerns as a reason for reducing meat intake.
Ian Simpson, senior researcher at NatCen Social Research, said: 'Many people in Britain are clearly concerned about eating too much meat and the primary driver of this concern appears to be concerns about health.
“High-profile news stories, like research highlighting the health risks of processed meat and the horse meat scandal, could be behind this behaviour, as may Department of Health guidance around reducing meat consumption. Since we collected the data, the World Health Organisation has classified processed meat as carcinogenic, suggesting we may see even more people cutting down on meat in the future.'
