Cutting back on meat saw Brits save £2.8 billion throughout 2018, according to a new survey. Over 2,000 adults were polled by researchers, and discovered that 26 per cent of participants had reduced their meat consumption. As a result of this, they all saved an average of £209 each across the past 12 months.
A third of survey respondents believed that there would be a time when there will be more vegans and vegetarians than meat eaters, expecting this to be the case in only 23 years’ time.
Whilst the amount of people leading vegan lifestyles continues to increase, over half of those polled think that more people than ever before will become vegetarian in 2019. In addition, 17 per cent of meat eaters intend to reduce their meat intake during 2019.
The survey was commissioned by Linda McCartney Foods and carried out by The Food People, food and beverage trend-spotters. Charles Banks, director of The Food People, said: “Vegetarianism has been growing over the last few years at a previously unseen rate.
“There are a number of motivations driving people to alter their behaviour, from ethics, economics, environment, health and accessibility. Therefore, it is most often a combination of factors that are forcing consumers to rethink their daily diets.
“The accessibility of vegetarian and vegan food has had the biggest impact, as it moves towards a more inclusive, mainstream lifestyle choice.”
The study found that people weren’t enjoying meat as much as they had previously, and the introduction of better meat alternatives is a driving force in the amount of people reducing meat.
As for the accessibility of vegan food, the UK has taken the lead over Germany in becoming the world’s top country for new vegan food product launches, further proving the demand for plant-based food.