Our nationally representative survey found that 61% of people are willing to cut down their meat consumption, with animal welfare, carbon emissions, and money listed as the top three reasons why.
We also found that 64% are wanting to choose better meat, but are experiencing barriers to doing so.
In this report, we present the findings of the Eating Better x FOUR PAWS UK 2024 Public attitudes survey. It offers insights and analysis on attitudes towards reducing meat consumption, the barriers that stand in the way, and the actions which will enable change.
Find the full report here:
We have also created factsheets for the four nations:
- England
- Northern Ireland
- Scotland
- Wales (Wales factsheet also available in Welsh)
Also there are fact sheets for different stakeholders:
Sarah Wakefield, Executive Director of Eating Better said:
“Over the past decade, the Eating Better alliance has been laser focused on the role of less and better meat in the shift towards healthy and sustainable diets. The public are becoming increasingly aware of the impact of meat production and consumption, but are not finding it easy to buy less and better.
We encourage food businesses and the government to make it simple for citizens to make this shift while supporting farmers in a just transition.”
We produced this research with support from alliance member FOUR PAWS UK. Emily Wilson, Head of Programmes and Campaigns there explains why this work is so important:
“The way in which we farm animals urgently needs to change, not just to protect their welfare, but also to protect the planet and our own health and wellbeing.
By ending factory farming and transitioning towards more sustainable and ethical food and farming systems, we can create a future where farmers are rewarded for prioritising animal welfare, producing nutritious food, tackling climate change and restoring nature.”
Note on the survey
Every year Eating Better conducts a public attitude survey to measure changing attitudes around food options, with a particular focus on meat and dairy consumption. As an alliance of organisations who advocate for healthy, sustainable and fair food systems, understanding public opinion is important for three main reasons:
- Opinions drive behaviour
- Benchmarking our efforts
- Opinions influence policy
Online Omnibus. All figures unless stated otherwise were collected and supplied by Savanta.
Total sample size was 1700 adults (N= 500 England, Scotland and Wales, N= 200 Northern Ireland).
Fieldwork was undertaken between 27th March-4th April 2024.
Political party affiliation was determined based on voting intentions at the time the data was collected for the 2024 General Election.
