A quarter of Americans (23%) have cut back on the amount the meat they ate over the last 12 months, citing health concerns, reports a new poll from Gallup. Most respondents (72%) said they ate the same amount of meat, while only 5% reported eating more meat in the past year than in previous years.
The data was collected from a September 16-30, 2019 telephone poll of 2,431 U.S. adults.
Which groups were most likely to cut back?
The poll revealed that certain groups were more likely than others to say they ate less meat in 2019:
- Women were twice as likely as men to reduce their meat consumption.
- Nonwhites reported that they had reduced the amount of meat in their diet at a higher rate than whites.
- The Midwest was the part of the country least likely to say they reduced their meat consumption.
- A higher number of city and suburb residents said they cut down on the amount of meat they ate compared to those who lived in rural areas.
Nine out of ten respondents cited health concerns as the main reason they were cutting back on their meat consumption. Sustainability was the next most prominent factor: 7 in 10 said environmental concerns were why they ate less meat.
Industry marketing should focus on the potential health, environmental and animal welfare aspects of meat to increase consumption of animal products, the report suggested.
Meat alternatives not to blame
Plant-based proteins and other meat alternatives went mainstream in 2019, but that doesn’t mean they’re to blame for the overall decrease in meat consumption. Only a third (36%) of respondents indicated they had replaced meat with plant-based alternatives.
Instead, the report found that respondents were cutting back on meat by eating smaller portions (77%), altering recipes or substituting ingredients for meat (71%) or eliminating meat entirely from some of their meals (69%).
“Americans' reasons for reducing their meat consumption are compelling – personal health, environmental impact, concerns for animal welfare – but very few have totally given it up,” the authors wrote. “Ninety-seven percent of Americans in the latest poll report eating meat at least rarely, and two in three say they eat it frequently. Meat is here to stay.”
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