How much meat do you eat?

[lanya]

Recently I've noticed in my circles that pretty much everyone is cutting back on meat due to environmental/ climate reasons.

Most people I know aren't vegetarian, but are more aware/ more careful about the amount they eat, e.g. only once or twice per week.

I am wondering whether this is the case generally across the UK, or if most people are carrying on as normal?

YABU: We are eating the same amount of meat as we always have.
YANBU: We have reduced our meat intake over the last few years for climate reasons.

Disclaimer: This isn't any kind of brag or meant to be condescending - I'm just curious.

Zero - I've been vegetarian for about 30 years

DH and DS's eat meat most days. DS2 will occasionally eat veggie/vegan with me

I recycle a lot and wish I could do gardening unfortunately don't have one

Would love to grow my own veg.

Well, I'm not going to sugar coat this. I love meat! Nobody is perfect, and very few people don't contradict themselves somewhere when it comes to the environment, dietary choices etc.

I tend to eat lean meat like chicken and turkey. I do sometimes have lean beef and pork/bacon/better quality sausages etc. I like the least fat possible options, cut the rinds off bacon before cooking etc. This is personal taste though.

I also eat a bazillion vegetables, and enjoy a varied diet.

@SingleSexSafeSpace " Your cancer to get bruv not mine. Hope it's not a painful one"

Actually vegans might find cancer more of a problem with the amount of plant pesticides they're consuming. Especially you as you're eating enough plants to sustain deadlifting 145KG 😆

Vegan for 4 years after a covid/hitting 50 inspired health kick. One adult DC vegan, one vegetarian, one pescatarian. DGC being raised vegetarian. DP eats meat but has cut down considerably (no pressure from me, just has seen the benefits to my health and enjoys the odd vegan dish!) Most other people I know eat meat, but are very happy not to, and enjoy trying non meat meals. I don't know any of the sort of militant meat eaters that sometimes pop up in the MN anti vegan threads. Most people say they wish they could eat less meat.

Who doesn't love a sausage. A proper one

@ITsExpected Yes. I wouldn't judge anyone for continuing to eat meat, even if it's just because they like it and can't/ don't want to give it up. That's fine - we're all human.

But I must admit, I do have a bit of a problem with people who try to argue that eating meat is actually more sustainable than a vegetarian diet, and actually better for the planet in some way (e.g. because of the production of vegan leather). It isn't.

I do respect everyone's decisions but I think we should all recognise and understand and own our choices.

I eat meat and I know it would be better if I didn't, but I can't give it up completely because I like it and it's delicious.

Don't feel bad. Eat what the hell you like.

So many misguided people on here anyway.

We have cut down for health reasons and eat fish more. We’ll eat chicken maybe once a week and red meat only occasionally. We try and have days where we eat no meat or fish. Much as we love bacon, we rarely eat it on the advice of a colorectal surgeon friend.

We also only buy higher welfare meat now.

You can't. I'm vegan and eat ALL the carbs! Still two stone down from when I ate meat, with a BMI of 21. I'm in the best shape of my life at 55.

@lanya

It's just a shame people can't just have a grown up and respectful discussion.

Hear hear!

@5128gap Yes I think the problem with that post you quoted is that 'reduce carbs' is not really the font of all dietary advice!! Carbs are an important food group.

I believe that most people need more nutritious whole, unprocessed foods and vegetables, rather than necessarily a reduction in carbs.

I think it's very possible to have a healthy and balanced vegetarian diet. Vegan is harder but not impossible - I have a few vegan friends who have great diets - but it takes effort and time to do it right.

We’re eating the same meals as we always did, but I’ve reduced the quantity of meat per person I use in the meal and added extra nuts or veg or pulses instead. This is partly to reduce meat but also to increase veg/plant intake.

We do eat vegetarian meals but they tend to be dairy heavy, so I’m not sure if they’re all that much better environmentally or ethically.

I eat it occasionally, but some meats I don’t eat all eg beef and lamb - I find both of those completely gross. I’ll manage the occasional ham sandwich or a bit of chicken in my curry.

And fish I will eat with no problems. I love fish.

Being proud because you don’t give a shit about animal cruelty isn’t something to gloat about.

If someone told you they saw someone kicking a dog outside would you tell them you didn’t want to hear it and that you weren’t willing to do anything about it? This is exactly the same as people telling you how cruel the meat and dairy industry is. The issue isn’t people telling you about it the issue is you blindly ignoring it.

We still eat meat or fish most days but smaller portions and organically / locally produced whenever possible . I have eaten vegan at my son’s but dislike tofu etc, DD is vegetarian and I do enjoy some vegetarian options but beans don’t agree with me and I am not keen on grains/rice/pasta so going down that route would mean a very restricted range of foods.
I will continue to enjoy my meat/fish/seafood with plenty of vegetables and salad.

I know people swear by low carb @lanya but usually it's within the context of creating a calorie deficit, which let's face it, if you're cutting out carbs, you're going to find a lot easier to do. So I think you get results in the short term. Also if some of the issue is water retention or bloating it will deal with that. However, long term I just couldn't sustain it. Carbs fill me and give me day to day energy, and would be far harder to drop than meat has proved to be for me. Everyone's different but if I can be post menopause with little to no belly fat and still eat carbs, nothing will convince me low carb is necessary.
I completely agree about nutrition and balance. Clean whole foods is the way to go, whether that includes animal products or not.

@Mairzydotes ahh gotcha. I keep wanting to try frozen meat from Iceland but I just haven’t done it yet. I was thinking of trying their frozen boneless and skinless chicken thighs.

I went veggie/vegan for months but always go back to eating meat unfortunately.

Mostly eat chicken and fish as trying to limit red and processed meat but I still love a burger/steak once in a while!

We’ve been eating less meat. I’ve never eaten pork and have gone off chicken so the only options are beef and lamb which are expensive!

I eat meat abt twice a week

Very little. In the last few weeks I've had, trying to think now, some bacon, a piece of fish and a ham sandwich.

I'm not really a big meat eater these days.

Based on what measure? If transported by air then it just isn't better for the environment at all. If transported by sea it is marginally better when looking at carbon footprint. But water usage tends to be higher, nutrient loss from soil tends to be higher, the quality of the produce tends to be lower because it's harvested early etc etc.

People don't see the localised damage done, only the shiny carbon footprint data.