Majority Of Brits Would Rather Die Early Than Give Up Meat

The majority of Brits would choose knocking five to 10 years off their lives over giving up meat. 

However, meat is still immensely popular – so much so, two thirds of people in the UK would rather decrease their life expectancy than wipe out meat from their diets.

The poll also found 51% of respondents think diets with more meat are ‘masculine’, while vegan (36%) and vegetarian (35%) diets are more ‘feminine’.

Of men, 30% said humans are meant to eat meat, compared to 22% of women. If giving up meat helped their sexual performance, 18% of men would do it, as well as 35% saying they’d cut it out if their general health improved.

Integrating alternative options like tofu and Quorn into one’s diet is more popular among younger generations. When asked if they’d ever had meat in order to fit in, 21% of those aged 16-34 said yes, compared to 8% of those aged over 65.

Dr Shireen Kassam, founder of Plant Based Health Professionals UK, said: ‘This survey highlights a real disconnect between the science and public attitudes relating to meat consumption.’

She added: ‘Given that eating meat, particularly red and processed meat, is a leading risk factor for some of our commonest chronic illnesses, it is quite alarming to learn how entrenched some myths and beliefs about a vegan diet actually are. This is undoubtedly a result of decades of effective marketing and PR by the meat industry.’