In recent days, a report was published by Lancet Planetary Health which states that Britain is eating approximately 17% less meat than it was a decade ago. Whereas the nation still needs to double this percentage to meet healthy diet and sustainable food production targets laid out in the national food strategy, it is a tremendous statistic to work with and one which shows that efforts to reduce meat consumption – as well as the promotion of meat free alternatives – is working.
In addition to healthy eating targets, meat consumption must fall tremendously on a global scale to help combat climate change – with meat factories, agricultural farming land and mass breading of livestock all being considerable factors towards the climate crisis, which poses a significant threat to our existence. Though reducing meat intake by 17% might seem like a big decrease, more work needs to be done in the next decade and – with the right backing of the alternative industry – that 34% target can, hopefully, be reached. However, once more, 17% is definitely a comfortable step in the right direction and, hopefully, we don’t head backwards or sideways in the next decade.
Meat Free Alternatives
Here in the UK, one of the obstacles standing in the way of more making the jump to meat free food is a lack of education. Though they won’t admit it, a significant proportion of Brits suffer overwhelmingly from cultural exclusivity when it comes to food. For example, the national dish of Britain is undoubtedly the famed fish and chips – a rather boring dish when you think about it. When you consider some of the fancy dishes our neighbors in Europe can boast (we are looking at you, France, Italy and Spain), our foods are pretty boring in comparison. Additionally, they all rely too heavily on meat; Sunday dinners, fish and chips, pasties, pies etc are all far too dependent on meat and this why, on the whole, Britain has traditionally struggled in transitioning to meat free alternatives. The beauty is, however, there are meat free alternatives for most of these dishes – and they’re tasty, too.
Goodness Foods offer a wide variety of meat free alternatives, namely their meat free pies which are, admittedly, delicious – as are their pasties. For a lovely Sunday roast dinner, vegetable gravy can replace those beef and chicken flavored mainstays quite easily – the difference being barely noticeable. As for the meat which goes with the roast dinner, Quorn chicken or Linda McCartney sausages (or the Richmond vegetarian alternative) go amazingly well with your potatoes, Yorkshire puddings and vegetables. Switching over to meat free is easy once you know what’s out there and, once you’ve grown accustomed to meat free knowing the positive impact you are having on both your own health and the environment, you will never want to go back.
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