20% of Young People in Netherlands Want to Give Up Meat

From vegconomist.com

New research conducted by Kieskompas on behalf of ProVeg Netherlands has found that the majority of Dutch people support the idea of a transition towards a more plant-based diet.

20% of young people surveyed said they would like to give up meat, compared to 16% for the general population. 45% of respondents were already flexitarian, while 7% were vegetarian and 2% were vegan. Among those who were not vegetarian or vegan, half wanted to eat less meat.

Overall, two-thirds of people said they supported the transition to more plant-based diets, with the majority in favour across age groups, political viewpoints, and regions. The most common reasons for wishing to eat fewer animal products were reducing animal suffering, preventing deforestation, avoiding species extinction, and protecting wild fish populations.

According to the report, Dutch meat consumption would be reduced by 30% if everyone who said they wanted to decrease their consumption did so. This would save 1.6 megatons of CO2 per year, about a third of the government’s emissions reduction target for the Dutch livestock sector by 2030.

Image courtesy ProVeg International

Turning desire into behaviour

Earlier this year, figures showed that meat and dairy continue to dominate Dutch diets. 61% of protein consumed in the country is animal-based, while the government has set a target for a 50/50 ratio of plant-based vs animal proteins consumed by 2030.

However, there is cause for optimism — in May, it was reported that sales of animal meat at Dutch supermarkets had fallen by 16.4% since 2020. Most major Dutch supermarket chains have committed to selling 60% plant-based proteins by 2030, so further reductions are likely.

In March, research from Statistics Netherlands found that 69.2% of Dutch people eat at least one meatless dinner per week. Young people, women, and those with higher levels of education were more likely to choose meatless meals.

“The already existing desire to eat more plant-based food is very large,” said Pablo Moleman, strategic director of ProVeg Netherlands. “This shows that it is possible to make the Netherlands much more plant-based, without anyone having to be forced or convinced. It is up to NGOs, governments, and companies to help this group to turn their desire into behaviour.”

https://vegconomist.com/studies-and-numbers/dutch-young-people-want-give-up-meat/