Our latest UK public attitudes survey shows overwhelming public support for less and better meat. It shows many of us have been trying to eat less meat, and strong support for farmers with high animal welfare and environmental standards.
The poll by Yonder (formerly Populus), commissioned by Eating Better, the Food Ethics Council and Hubbub, includes responses from 2,095 people in the UK. Respondents were asked about a range of questions relating to eating meat and dairy, livestock production, trade and support for farmers.
Our key findings:
- People are reducing meat consumption. 21% of people said they are eating less meat than a year ago and 9% now don't eat any meat.
- Many are showing a willingness to reduce further. 65% of people are willing to consider eating less meat and fewer meat products in the future. Nearly 3 in 4 women are willing to reduce (71%).
- Health is the number one driver for reduction (50%), closely followed by the conditions in which animals are reared (46%). People are interested in provenance (39%), the carbon impact of meat (38%) and other environmental issues (37%).
- People want support for more sustainable and healthy food choices, particularly through improved knowledge of how to plan and cook less meat meals, as well as better labelling on origin (65%) and production method (58%).
- There is huge support for high animal welfare and environmental farming standards. Almost three-quarters of the UK public agreed they would like to do more to support UK farmers that have high animal welfare and environmental standards.
- People want any UK trade deals to protect health and the environment and don’t support lower standard meat and dairy imports. 77% of UK public think the Government should assess future trade deals for their impact on human health and the environment.
Access the data in more detail and the full survey results here.
Photo by Edgar Castrejon on Unsplash