Personal action - Becoming flexitarian
More variety, not less
Sometimes called ‘casual vegetarianism’, the spirit of flexitarian eating is one of inclusion: introducing more seasonal, plant-based options without completely eliminating meat. This has several advantages:
- A reduction in greenhouse gas emissions – as much as 52 percent, assuming everyone switched to a flexitarian diet (29). Other research indicates that if every family in the UK swapped a red meat meal to a plant-based meal just once a week, the environmental impact would be the same as taking 16 million cars off the road(30).
- Reducing demand for meat would reduce the need for intensive animal farming, which has a negative impact on the environment. However, sustainable cattle farming has a role to play in reducing soil erosion by locking in nutrients and sequestering carbon emissions.
- A healthy option with lower cholesterol and plenty of nutrition.
- It is more appealing to more people as it increases options for mealtimes. Furthermore, the meat eaten can be better quality, as people will have more budgetary headroom to eat meat that is organic and locally sourced.
(29). See https://www.nature.com/articles/s41586-018-0594-0
(30). Research commissioned by The Meatless Farm Company, see https://meatlessfarm.com/meatless-consumption-target/