Almost a quarter of the global population adheres to a ‘low-meat’ diet

While more than half (54%) of the global population claims to have no dietary requirements, almost a quarter of consumers globally claim that they adhere to low-meat diets.

The growing prevalence of obesity and ailments that arise from dietary and lifestyle factors is encouraging consumers to increase their intake of fresh fruit and vegetables, which reduces their intake of meat.

Consumers now have access to an endless flow of information on the internet, which exposes them to a variety of alternative diets and lifestyles. The choice to keep a low-meat diet can be attributed to the rise in ‘flexitarianism’ or ‘reducetarianism’, where consumers keep primarily vegetarian diets, but may occasionally eat meat, fish, or poultry.

In addition, those that are highly committed to leading 'cruelty-free' diets may choose to limit, or forgo their consumption of meat. However, given that vegans and vegetarians account for just 7% of the global population according to GlobalData’s 2017 Q1 consumer survey, it is largely the growing consumer interest in health and wellbeing that is boosting the popularity of low-meat diets.