More than a third of people in the UK are eating a new kind of diet called ‘reducetarian’ as part of a new trend to eat less meat, according to the RSPCA.
The animal charity says there is a “significant and growing trend” of shoppers reducing the amount of meat, fish, eggs or dairy in their diet in favour of vegan and vegetarian foods.
Almost a quarter of people are doing it subconsciously as a result of health, sustainability and animal welfare concerns, it claims.
According to the research, red meat is the most commonly stripped back food from a reducetarian’s diet followed by dairy. Beef burgers, sausages and steaks are the foods a reducetarian is most likely to avoid eating regularly.
Instead of these foods, they are eating more vegetables, meat substitutes like Quorn, pulses, and seeds, the RSPCA says.
And when they do eat meat or animal produce they tend to favour chicken, cheese and eggs. The majority however would not consider ever becoming vegan or vegetarian.
What sort of diet do you have?
Vegans do not eat any animal products at all and vegetarians don’t eat meat or fish but do eat eggs and dairy. There are other types of popular diet including pescatarians who don’t at meat but do eat fish, eggs and dairy and ‘flexitarians’ very occasionally eat meat, fish, eggs or dairy.
Money is also a factor driving these diets.
According to recent YouGov research, 29% of Brits are now eating less meat because it is more expensive than it was a year ago, and 25% say that they simply cannot afford to buy as much meat as they did this time last year.