Brits eating less meat than ever as cost of living crisis forces shopping changes

Meat consumption has been falling for decades and is now at its lowest level ever, ITV News Correspondent Sejal Karia reports

Meat consumption has hit its lowest level in the UK since records began in the 1970s as changing habits and the cost of living crisis lead to people choosing cheaper vegetarian options.

In 2012, on average, each person ate 989g of meat a week, including takeaways.

Since then consumption has steadily fallen even during Covid when many families ate more at home.

Last year it was down to a new low of 854g, down 14% from last year and the lowest since records began in the 1970s.

The data also shows people are moving away from expensive cuts of meat with people eating just over half the steak they were last year.

Meat consumption has fallen among all income groups but the sharpest fall has been among the poorest in society.

Morgan Lewis told ITV News she found meat was too expensive to buy despite wanting to eat it.

She said: "To buy meat. Especially like if you are only eating like for yourself, it isn't really, it doesn't really have like yeah a lot of value."

Lewis's flatmate Abygail said she had made a conscious decision to not eat meat having gone vegan nine years ago.

She said: "It's mostly to do with animals, but then it's just kind of a bit of everything like health and the planet."

The stats from the Department for Environment Food and Rural Affairs also show people are turning away from red meats like beef, pork and lamb faster than others.

They were down 26% compared to chicken and other meat products which were down 11%.

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