A study by the University of Oxford and the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine has found that the number of people consuming plant-based food alternatives in the U.K has been two times bigger since 2017-2019 and 2008-2011. The study is the first in the U.K to look into the trend of plant-based food consumption.
Researchers looked into people aged 1.5 years and above. They evaluated their food consumption habits through data provided by the National Diet and Nutrition survey between 2008 and 2019. Researchers realized that the number of people who consumed plant-based alternatives had gone from 6.7% to 13.1%
Groups that reported minor meat consumption were 24-39 (millennials) and 11-23 (Generation Y). Women were also 46% more likely to cut out meat from their diets.
Researchers concluded that the availability of plant-based alternatives promoted the shift from meat consumption. Despite this, it was still unclear if these diets were healthy.
According to the study author, Dr. Pauelene Scheelbeek, shifting to sustainable plant-based diets is crucial in addressing climate change. Many high and middle-income households are looking at it as a way to reduce consumption of animal products. The team aimed to find out if experts should promote the shift to these diets.
Studies have shown that the existing food consumption patterns and systems are harmful to human health and the earth. The system emits about 21-37% of the total greenhouse gas. Moreover, about 70% of freshwater goes to agriculture alone.
Governments are promoting a sustainable diet to reach the targets the Paris agreement gave. These diets are more common in high and middle-income homes. So far, they have been effective in reducing the impact on the environment and improving people’s health. However, this data also shows that such first can be unaffordable in low-income communities.
The U.K Climate Change Committee suggested reducing dairy and meat products rich in carbon to lower emissions by 2030. However, many people were reluctant to make the shift as they liked to eat meat and believed it was essential to their health. For his reason, the PBAF suggested plant-based alternatives as they have the same texture and flavor as animal products. They also eliminate the need to change diet or learn new cooking skills.