- Britains are choosing to become ‘flexitarians’ in a bid to stay healthy
- Survey found 40 per cent admit they are eating less meat than before
- Those influenced by the health benefits were women and young people
Colin Fernandez Science Correspondent For The Daily Mail
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Britain is increasingly becoming a nation of ‘flexitarians’ – choosing to eat a lot less meat to stay healthy.
But they are not full-blown vegetarians, and may succumb to the odd tempting meaty treat such as bacon.
Overall 40 per cent of people in a survey agreed with the statement: ‘These days I eat less meat than I used to do’
The figure rises to 45 per cent among women.
A third of people said they are ‘actively choosing to eat less meat’, including 39 per cent of women.
More and more Britain’s are eating less meat and turning to vegetarian meals in a bid to stay healthy but many in this new survey admitted they couldn’t resist bacon
Among the younger generations, 28 per cent of 18-24 year olds and 27 per cent of women agree ‘that by 2025, my diet will probably be mostly meat-free.’
The report said: ‘This movement is being driven by women and people aged 15 to 34.
‘Given that women remain the primary grocery shoppers in the majority of households, grocery retailers and suppliers will need to respond to growing demand for diets richer in plants and lower in animal products.’
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The study found that ‘public opinion towards eating meat is clearly shifting and moderation is becoming mainstream’.
The study found 52 per cent of under 35s agree that ‘eating a full English breakfast is bad for you,’ and a third of adults believe that ‘by 2025 parents will generally not give hamburgers or sausages to their children.’
The study says that Western Europeans are increasingly cutting back on meat eating – eating 10 per cent less in 2009 than in 1990, with per capita consumption falling from 95.5kg to 87kg according to the UN Food and Agriculture Organisation.
The study found 52 per cent of under 35s agree that ‘eating a full English breakfast is bad for you’
The report, drawn up by Forum for the Future, an environmental think tank, cites a variety of reasons why eating less meat is seen as a good idea by many of the public.
They include 2015 findings by the World Health Organisation that eating meat is a ‘probable’ cause of cancer. Regarding concerns over the ethics of meat production, the study cited findings that two in every three farm animals – 50 billion each year – are farmed industrially indoors. Other concerns include antibiotic resistance, with around 45 per cent of antibiotics in the UK and 70 per cent in the UK used for livestock rather than humans – leading to increasing numbers of bacteria becoming resistant, with the potential to make diseases more difficult to treat.
The American Association of Cancer Research, in a study of 69,120 participants found that ‘vegetarian diets seem to confer protection against cancer, and vegan diet seems to confer lower risk for overall and female specific cancer than other dietary patterns.’
Studies have suggested vegetarians and vegans seem too confer protection against cancer
Also playing a part are recent documentaries, including the 2014 feature film Cowspiracy, which highlights the downside of farming beef.
The report, funded by Unilever, makers of Flora margarine, added that ‘a number of affluent urban consumers’ have been influenced by chefs such as Yotam Ottolenghi, Hugh Fearnley Whittingstall, Michael Pollan and Thomasina Miers who have championed vegetarian eating, as well as food blogs such as Deliciously Ella by Ella Woodward.
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