Why follow a ‘low-meat’ diet?
If you eat meat, your diet has a huge impact on the environment. We know that livestock (cows, pigs, chickens, etc) account for 11.2 per cent of all the greenhouse gases produced worldwide, while meat also has a giant water footprint; it takes 15,400 litres of water to produce just 1kg of beef, for example.
But what about your personal impact on the planet? Professor Peter Scarborough, who led the research, explains that this is the first study based on real people’s diets rather than abstract models.
He says, “We looked at the diets of 55,500 adults in the UK and divided this up into: heavy meat eaters (100g a day), medium meat eaters (50-100g) and low meat eaters (50g); fish-eaters; vegetarians; vegans.”
The results were shocking; a meat-eater’s diet led to 75 per cent more carbon emissions, water pollution and land use than a vegan’s. And when a high-meat diet was compared with a low-meat diet, there was still a 30 per cent difference.
I eat meat four times a week, sometimes twice a day, so I’m definitely eating 100g a day – if not more. This new study was a wake-up call, and it gave me the push I needed to cut down my meat consumption.
How much is 50g of meat?
This was the first thing I needed to work out: what does 50g of meat look like? In keeping with the study, I included all animal meat – chicken, pork, lamb and beef – but not fish or seafood. I also included processed meats, such as sausages, bacon and chorizo. And I was amazed at the miniscule amount I was ‘allowed’.
An average 50g portion of meat is approximately:
• 1 thick slice / 2 very thin slices of roast beef
• 1.5 chipolata sausages
• 2 slices ham
• 2 rashers bacon
• 10 thin slices chorizo
• 3.5 tablespoons cooked mince
• 1 small, thin burger patty
• 1 small skinless, boneless chicken thigh
• 1 small chicken mini fillet
• 1/2 small pork loin steak
I realised not only how tiny an amount 50g was, but also how little 100g a day is – even though this counts as a high-meat diet.
Dr Elisa Becker, a psychologist at Oxford University who specialises in behaviour changes to help people reduce their meat intake, says, “It is quite a shock to see that such a small amount of meat already has such a big impact on the environment.”
It was definitely time to change my meat-eating habits. How hard could it be to eat 50g a day for seven days? Narrator: She did not, in fact, find it easy.
The lows of a low-meat diet…
For the first few days, I was totally happy – my breakfasts stayed the same (toast, porridge or yoghurt and fruit) and I’m a big fan of a jacket potato with beans and cheese or a falafel wrap for lunch. But as the week went on, I became more frustrated with my meat ‘rations’ for my evening meals.
One and a half sausages doesn’t make a proper dinner, and a small chicken thigh only stretches so far – even shredding it into a soup. I didn’t want to rely on meat-free substitutes like burgers or mince either, as they’re also ultra-processed foods.
I wondered if I could ‘save up’ my 50g daily allowance for something like a fry-up or a roast dinner.
“Oh, I think that’s definitely allowed!” says Dr Becker. “Even people who eat a lot of meat don’t always have 100g a day; some days they eat more and on others, much less. It makes sense to have one or two meat-based meals a week, rather than eating two rashers of bacon a day.”
Knowing I could add up my daily allowance would make planning my meals a lot easier, and this spurred me on to finish the week.
…and the highs
Taking Dr Becker’s advice on board, I had a meat-based meal (pulled pork and a chicken curry) on two nights, then made plant-based versions of classic meat meals, like veggie chilli, for the rest of the week. I also enjoyed finding new fish recipes to cook, having completely forgotten about seafood in my sulk over how little meat I was allowed.
Changing my mindset to see that I could eat 350g of meat a week – around 2 chicken breasts, 2 small fillet steaks, or 3 large sausages and 2 thick rashers of bacon – rather than 50g a day, felt far less restrictive. This meant I was essentially eating a flexitarian diet but I made sure I stayed within the low-meat guidelines.
Once I stopped thinking about what I couldn’t eat, and focused on what I could eat instead, I found it was possible to continue following a low-meat diet. But it did take a significant shift to start seeing meat as an additional extra rather than the basis for most of my main meals.
Sticking to a low-meat diet
Professor Scarborough says it’s not surprising I found the experience tough going. “We know that even people who really want to reduce their meat consumption find it difficult as our policies, food settings and society is set up in many ways to promote meat eating,” he says.
“Our only hope of making big changes to the environmental impact of our diet is for governments to implement policies that make sustainable diets easier for people to choose and maintain.”
In other words, don’t beat yourself up if you have tried and failed to go vegan or vegetarian in the past; your willpower isn’t to blame when our food system is designed around meat eaters.
Having reduced my meat consumption for a week, I know it’s not easy but I now feel more confident that I can keep it going. Following a low-meat, rather than no-meat, diet means I can reduce my impact on the planet without feeling hard done by. I may not have done Veganuary this year, but Meatless March is looking much more likely.
5 top tips to eat less meat
Want to start eating a low-meat diet? Check out Dr Becker’s expert tips:
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- Focus on reducing your red meat intake first. It’s the most damaging to our health and the most damaging to the environment, so giving it up first will make the biggest difference.
- Giving up red meat can also help you give up other meats. Research shows the effort you first make to give up red meat isn’t as much when you want to stop eating others. So, if you can quit steak, it becomes a lot easier to give up bacon, then chicken, and so on.
- Change your own food environment to avoid straying from your good intentions. Use up the meat products in your fridge or portion them up and freeze for later so you can start with a clean slate.
- Plan your meals in advance. This stops you shopping when you’re experiencing a meat craving and are more likely to put it in your basket.
- Stick with it. Research shows 81 per cent of those taking part in Veganuary maintain a ‘dramatic reduction’ in their meat consumption six months later. My own research has found that even if people don’t stick to their no-meat diet completely, they still reduce their liking of meat after just one month.
