Futurists tell us we must start getting used to eating plant-based foods, because we’ll all be eating them almost all the time by 2050. The world just can’t take the strain of raising real meat anymore, and global warming is making many other foods unsustainable, too…
A plant-based feast: Are we really embracing it?
So it should come as no surprise that folks in the Developed West appear to be doing just that, shifting their diets significantly to plants. In fact, some say that’s a happy surprise. Many food sphere seers have feared that the average consumer would need a much stronger push to try – much less adopt – plant-based foods.
The food chain has been demonstrated to contribute between 21 and 37 percent of global greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, and agriculture accounts for around 70 percent of freshwater use.
The UK as a model
Researchers from the University of Oxford and the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine (LSHTM) analysed data from the UK National Diet and Nutrition Survey 2008-2019, which looked at trends from more than 15,000 individuals aged 1.5 years and over. Respondents kept daily food diaries to record as accurately as possible everything they consumed. The researchers concluded Brits doubled their plant-based foods consumption between 2008 and 2011, and again between 2017 and 2019. That’s a remarkable surge in the popularity of plants by anyone’s measure.
An abstract of the survey report notes: “The largest increases were reported among Generation Y (11-23 years old), Millennials (24-39 years old), and among those that reported low meat consumption. Women were also 46 percent more likely to report consumption of plant-based alternative foods than men.”
Dr. Pauline Scheelbeek from LSHTM, the study’s lead author, said: “The willingness to reduce meat intake among populations in many European countries has increased rapidly over the past decade. Unfortunately, this does not always result in actual dietary change. The plant-based alternative foods could be a stepping stone for people that are willing to reduce meat consumption, but find it hard to fit this into their daily lives. This study shows that more and more people are applying this pathway to achieve their goals on more plant-based diets.”
Professor Alan Dangour from LSHTM, a study co-author, said: “We are seeing a revolution in consumer patterns that could have dramatic impacts on our food systems. Our study shows just how quickly diets are changing in the UK and how willing the UK public are to adopt new foods. We must now ensure that as we transition to diets with more novel foods, the diets enhance public health and have a substantially lower impact on our planet.”
My take
I remain surprised about the survey’s findings – the speed with which Brits (and by association, consumers in other Western ‘Developed’ nations) have apparently embraced plant-based foods – and I also remain somewhat suspicious that about their accuracy. But, if they are true, I’m relieved. We, as a civilization, are heading in the right direction, and may be making sufficient speed to save ourselves by the looming deadline of 2050.
On the other hand, if survey respondents – especially the more recent ones – are counting a Beyond or Impossible Burger (see photo, top of page) every week or so as embracing plant-based foods, the researchers are living in a dream world. I think I’ve lived long enough, and met enough people, and seen enough of life in general to know when something doesn’t smell right. This doubling and redoubling within a decade is just a little too much to accept without harder evidence.
But that’s been Job 1 for me for the past 40 years: to be skeptical, to demand evidence, to seek the truth. An old journalist’s instincts don’t die hard. They just don’t die. In that respect, I’ve been compared to an old firehouse dog when she smells smoke. But my instincts have stood me in good stead up to now, and I’m sticking with them.
Will we actually beat global warming to the finish line?
Muse on that…
~ Maggie J.