29% Of UK Meals Consumed In January Were Meat Free

The number of UK consumers opting for meat-free meals has skyrocketed over the last two years, according to new data.

Information from market research company Kantar says plant-based dining is set to become mainstream in 2018 – and it has backed this up with stats.

According to the organization, Britons ate 3.9 billion meat-free evening meals in the 12 months to October 2015. This rose to 4.3 billion in the 12 months to October 2017.

And the number of vegan meals consumed in this period increased by 87 million.

Meals

Kantar analysts claim that a massive 29 percent of meals consumed by UK consumers in January were meat-free.

They put part of this down to Veganuary – an initiative which encourages people to try a vegan diet during January – which had 160,000 participants this year.

Richard Allen, a spokesman for Kantar Worldpanel, said: “The surge in vegetarian evening meals over the past year is down to the wider availability of products which make eating meat-free more attractive and practical.

“Our ideas about what’s healthy are also changing – we’re more focused on foods that are natural and less processed, and eating a varied diet.”

‘Welcome’

A spokeswoman for The Vegan Society said she welcomed the news that more people are enjoying vegan food.

She added: “People are waking up to the fact that a meal can be free from animal products while also being healthy, delicious and satisfying.

“The more people who embrace this lifestyle, the better the impact on the animals, the environment and our health.”