Meat not part of daily diet for 8 out of 10 Dutch people

In 2020, 45 percent of people over the age of 18 said they ate meat up to four days a week, 5 percent said they never ate meat and 30 percent ate meat five or six days a week. About a third of the adults have started to eat less meat in the past year, and half a percent have stopped eating meat. This emerged from a survey conducted by Statistics Netherlands among 3,600 Dutch people.

The vast majority of adults (75 percent) still eat meat, but not every day. Twenty per cent still eat meat every day. Of those who do not eat meat, 3 per cent said they do not eat meat but do eat fish, 2 per cent also do not eat fish and 0.4 per cent choose a completely plant-based diet.

More than 1 in 3 adults eat less meat

In 2020, 35 percent of people over 18 said they had started to eat less meat in the previous 12 months, either by having meatless days or by eating smaller portions of meat. The majority, 58 per cent, say their meat consumption has not changed in the past year.

When asked, 37 per cent of meat-eaters said they should eat less meat. Those who do not eat meat occasionally are more likely to do so than those who eat meat every day: 40 per cent versus 25 per cent.

Of those who never eat meat, 70 per cent say animal welfare is the most important (48 per cent) or one of the reasons (23 per cent). Climate or the environment comes in second with 59 per cent. For flexitarians, personal reasons outweigh animal welfare, climate or environment.

cbs.nl