Over the past year, our focus has been on testing perceived barriers identified in previous phases and analysing real-world data on how people reduce meat in their diets. We’ve engaged with stakeholders to help inform policy development and practical solutions for sustainable dietary transitions.

This year, we launched the LESS Meat intervention, a study where participants aim to have three meat-free days each week. We started with a pilot study, to refine our approach and later began the main study, which looks at the barriers and enablers of reducing meat consumption in a real-world context. The study will track participants' nutritional and environmental impacts, not through theoretical diets, but through their lived experiences.

Our analysis of food-switching behaviours has also progressed. In year three, we have focused on preparing the data to examine how people structure their meat-free meals. Moving forward, we are examining how households adjust their purchasing habits to replace meat. We’re working with Kantar World Panel data that describes all the food items that households purchase to track how meat is replaced over time and are investigating trade-offs in purchasing plant-based alternatives, focusing on their nutritional value and environmental impact. 

An exciting new strand of the project this year addressed people’s access to sustainable foods. We are testing whether deprived populations face the same challenges accessing plant-based alternatives as they do healthy foods. Our data collection focuses on plant-based food availability across different levels of deprivation, and we aim to challenge the common assumption that meat alternatives are either unavailable or unaffordable. Our findings will be used to inform future policy recommendations about the food environment.

Our work has contributed to the Scotland Food and Drink Partnership, co-authoring a SEFARI Scientific Advisory Group report that estimates the carbon footprint of the food and drink sector in Scotland. This report provides critical evidence supporting efforts within the industry to reduce emissions and improve sustainability practices.

Our research on public attitudes towards sustainable diets has been shared with the Good Food Nation team. Focus groups conducted in 2023/24 revealed that some actions, like reducing food miles and plastic packaging, are often viewed as more impactful than they are. This insight has led to further work assessing the effectiveness of various interventions. Our results were also discussed with the Climate Change Committee leading up to their 7th Carbon Budget, focusing on the environmental impact of different meat types and the potential for consumer dietary shifts to reduce emissions.

We’ve started discussions with WWF’s Living Planet Act campaign, exploring how our findings on sustainable food production and consumption can align with their push for coordinated UK government policies.

Additionally, our research into barriers to reducing meat consumption has supported Food Standards Scotland (FSS) in modelling the effects of reducing meat and dairy consumption and creating sustainability-focused consumer guidance. This has informed the FSS review of the Scottish Dietary Goals and contributed to ongoing discussions with Public Health Scotland about equitable access to sustainable foods, beginning in Aberdeen and expanding to the Central Belt.

During our second year of research we have been exploring public attitudes towards dietary changes and practical steps that could support a shift toward sustainable diets.

Exploring Attitudes Toward Meat Consumption

We conducted an online survey of 1,590 adults across Scotland to understand meat consumption habits, interest in reducing meat intake, and perceived barriers. Our findings show that most participants eat meat frequently (around five days or more each week), but that a significant portion of people —about a third—are considering cutting back in the near future. Those inclined toward reducing meat consumption believe that policy changes affecting the cost and availability of meat alternatives would be the most supportive, while those less open to change prefer policies that improve the availability of plant-based options. Across all respondents, strategies around passive information, things like celebrity endorsements or information flyers were rated as the least impactful.

In addition to our survey, we have held focus groups across the North East of Scotland with both adults and young people to delve into what people know about sustainable diets and their attitudes toward reducing meat intake. Initial insights reveal that many adults know that there are environmental impacts of food choices, but some people did question the scale of these effects compared to other. When people talked about environmental impacts, they often thought about the physical environment (e.g., packaging, plastics and waste) more than climate. The willingness to cut down on meat varies, often influenced by socioeconomic factors, with more affluent groups more inclined to reduce than less affluent groups.

Social and Situational Influences on Dietary Change

We completed a pilot for our "Lived Experience of Sustainability in Scotland Meat" (LESS Meat) project. The aim is to observe real-world experiences and obstacles faced by people attempting to have three meat-free days each week. This study will help us to understand the sorts of daily challenges and motivations of people as they try to incorporate more plant-based meals into their routines. This pilot project will help to inform how we conduct the full study.

Patterns in Meat and Non-Meat Meals

Analysis of diet data from the National Diet and Nutrition Survey highlights differences in meal composition between meat-based and non-meat meals. Evening meals, typically the most substantial meal for many, often include meat. Interestingly, meal structure varies by the type of meat – compared to other meats, beef is more often paired with pasta, poultry with rice, and non-meat meals with bread. These meal composition patterns have implications for both environmental impact and nutritional quality, as non-meat meals are less likely to include vegetables or at least smaller portions when vegetables are present.

Knowledge Exchange and Outreach

We have been busy engaging in various knowledge exchange and outreach activities. This includes presenting our findings to local organizations, national policymakers, and international conferences. We have had lots of interesting conversations and even some ideas for new work on looking how our food choices are shaped by the food environment.

This project has six objectives which is being collectively addressed by four subprojects (S). The approach to this project is therefore:

Objective 1: to identify perceived and real barriers to switching to a more plant-based diet (S1, S2 and S3)

Objective 2: to find potential facilitators to support dietary change (S1 and S2)

Objective 3: to explore meat eaters' lived experience of eating less meat (S2)

Objective 4: to characterise the foods and meals eaten and purchased in place of meat (S2 and S4)

Objective 5: to estimate the nutritional and environmental impact of dietary change (S2 and S4)

Objective 6: to ascertain personal, social and situational factors influencing dietary change (S1, S2 and S3)

Subproject 1: We have designed and launched a questionnaire to survey public understanding about reducing meat consumption and eating a more plant-based diet. This survey was run on the Qualtrics platform and data will be collected for a representative sample of 1,500 people in Scotland. Questions include beliefs around food and the environment, willingness to change diets and attitudes towards different policies meant to encourage dietary change. Pilot data suggest little has changed in public understanding of 'sustainable diets'. 

Focus groups have also been incorporated into this subproject, in order to gain a more in-depth understanding of relationships between food and the environment. Focus groups will be run with both adults and young people and will be repeated in similar populations to assess if attitudes have changed. Two adult focus groups have been run in this year. The young people focus groups will start in Year 2 due to delays in gaining permissions, holidays and school strikes.

Subproject 2: An eight-week trial has been designed in which people will be asked to record their experiences of trying to reduce their meat consumption to only four days a week, while continuing with their normal lives. Some details shall be informed by the focus groups and survey.

Subproject 3: We are analysing the cross-sectional National Diet and Nutrition Survey (NDNS) data that show a year-on-year decrease in average meat consumption. A number of novel methods have been used to look at these data, including network analysis to examine how food items are consumed together and substitute made in the whole diet, not just single food swaps. Early analyses suggest that there are no direct replacements for red meat.

Subproject 4: Although not due to start until Year 3, Kantar data has been purchased this year and many of the methods to understand meals (S3) are applicable to understanding food purchases (S4). Therefore, we have analysed these data alongside the consumption data where questions about substitutions of meat for other foods overlap. Unlike consumption data, meat purchases do not appear to decrease on average.

Impact: The results of this project will inform multiple stakeholder groups about the current beliefs and attitudes of people in Scotland with regards to dietary changes, and what needs to be considered in the development of policies, including the Good Food Nation Act, to encourage dietary change. Analysis of the large datasets (NDNS and Kantar) is going beyond exploring the concept of simple swapping of food items and exploring the impact of reducing meat consumption on the whole diet. This is particularly important as people rarely simply switch just one food in a meal, more often the structure of the whole meal changes. Hence, this approach gives a more accurate understanding of what will happen to the nutritional quality of the diet and the environmental impacts when foods such as meat are reduced in the diet.