Eating lots of meat is bad for the environment – but we don't know enough about how consumption is changing

Contrary to official estimates, Britons may still be consuming too much meat. ALPA PROD/Shutterstock

Responsible for roughly a third of the UK’s diet-related carbon emissions, the consumption and production of meat is a substantial contributor to climate change. A report commissioned by the government last year reflects this, finding that people must eat 30% less meat by the end of the decade to reduce the environmental impact of food production.

Research indicates that meat consumption habits have changed. One study reports that the amount of meat eaten each day per person fell by 17% on average in the UK between 2008 and 2019.