Contribution of meat-free days, meat-free meals, and portion sizes to declines in meat consumption in the UK

Abstract

Understanding behaviours driving recent declines in UK meat consumption is essential for achieving the Climate Change Committee’s 20% reduction target by 2030. This study explored trends in meat-eating days, daily meat-eating meal occasions, and portion size of meat from the National Diet and Nutrition Survey (2008/09-2018/19). Meat consumption was assessed using 4-day food diaries. Trends were assessed with Poisson and linear regression models, while decomposition analysis quantified relative contributions to overall reductions. Meat-eating days decreased from 3.27 (0.04) to 3.03 (0.05) (P < 0.001), daily occasions decreased from 1.24 (0.02) to 1.13 (0.03) (P = 0.01), and portion size decreased from 85.8g (1.85) to 76.1g (1.78) (P < 0.001). Reduction in portion size had the largest impact on total meat consumption (57%), followed by days (37%) and occasions (6%). Our findings suggest smaller meat portions significantly contributed to decreasing UK meat consumption. Dissecting these behaviours can inform interventions to reduce meat consumption, aligning with reduction targets.