Compassion in World Farming commissioned a YouGov survey in April 2022 which asked 14,147 adults (aged 18+) across 12 markets (UK, US, Spain, South Africa, Poland, Netherlands, Italy, France, Czech Republic, Germany, China, Australia) about their views on the consumption of animal-sourced foods.

Global Shift Towards Plant-Based Diets: Consumer Attitudes and Behaviors

Key findings from YouGov survey

Overall there was a net decrease of 19% in global meat consumption with variations across markets and age groups.
Of those people who agreed that a reduction in meat consumption was necessary, 55% said it should be reduced for environmental considerations, 54% said it was for human health and the largest number, at 59%, said it was necessary for animal welfare reasons.
Thinking about the ways they are currently, or would look to, reduce their meat consumption, 40% said they would do this by eating more vegetables, pulses/lentils, and 33% said they would be interested in eating meat in reduced quantities per meal. Only 5% said they would look to go completely vegetarian, and only 3% said they would consider becoming vegan.
Overall, participants believe most responsibility for reducing meat consumption is on the consumers themselves at 39%. However, there is also responsibility on food providers to improve the availability of alternatives (26%), as well on healthcare professionals to provide advice on a plant-based diet (23%).

Global Meat Consumption Trends: A Snapshot

Overview of survey responses

For the following questions, by ‘meat’, we mean any meat or meat products, including chicken, fish, beef, pork, lamb, mutton, goat etc.

Question: Approximately, how often, if at all, do you eat any meat in an average week?

Response:
When asked how often, if at all, do you eat any meat in an average week, globally:

19% of total respondents replied they eat ‘meat’ every day,
28% eat ‘meat’ three or four days a week,
19% eat ‘meat’ one or two days a week,
4% replied they never eat ‘meat’.

Consumption patterns for an average week vary between markets; market exceptions include:

China - 41% replying they eat ‘meat’ every day
South Africa - 31% replying they eat ‘meat’ every day
US - 29% replying they eat ‘meat’ every day
Italy - had the lowest daily consumption at 6%
34% of responders in Italy replied they eat ‘meat’ one or two days a week, with Germany at 32%
10% of UK responders replied they never eat ‘meat’ in an average week

Question: Overall, to what extent, if at all, have you increased or decreased your consumption of meat over the last 12 months (i.e., since March 2021), or has it stayed about the same?

Response:
When asked if their consumption had increased, decreased or stayed the same over the past 12 months, globally:

58% of respondents reported their consumption had stayed the same.
10% of respondents reported an increase in their consumption.
29% of respondents reported a decrease in consumption.
Significant market variations:
- South Africa had the highest net increase in consumption at 27%
- UK and Netherlands had the lowest net increase in consumption at 5%
- France had the highest decrease in consumption at 41%

Question: For the following question, please think about any ways you are currently or would look to reduce your meat consumption. If you would never reduce your meat consumption, please select the ‘Not applicable’ option. In which, if any, of the following ways do you think you would go about reducing your meat consumption? (Please select all that apply)

Response:
When asked about which of the following ways you would look to reduce meat consumption, globally, in priority order, the ways respondents currently or would look to reduce meat consumption is as follows:

40% of respondents said they would eat more vegetables, pulses/lentils
33% of respondents said they would eat meat but in reduced portion sizes per meal
30% of respondents said they would eat meat but less frequently
28% of respondents said they would introduce meat free days into their week
22% of respondents said they would not reduce their meat consumption
19% of respondents said they would eat plant-based meat alternatives
5% said they would go vegetarian
5% said they did not know
3% said they would go vegan
Market variations occur. For example, 40% of South Africa respondents replied they are currently, or would look to, introduce meat free days into their week, compared to 10% of China respondents. Eating more vegetables & pulses seem to be the preference in China (52%), Spain 51% and Italy (51%).

To find out more about the survey, to see the full results or to delve deeper into market variations, please contact our Food Business team.