How much meat we eat in the UK is seen as a matter of personal choice; some people eat it daily, others never. It may surprise you to know that currently the UK’s meat consumption is twice the global average, and according to Hubbub, many adults exceed the recommended daily intakes for red and processed meat. The levels are most notably high amongst young men.
So how much should we eat? We know that farming too much meat isn’t good for the planet (globally, we farm over 80 billion animals, contributing to 14.5% of global emissions), and we know that eating too much meat can be bad for our health (for example, regular consumption of highly processed meat has been linked to colorectal cancer). Despite this knowledge, in the UK meat still dominates many menus, dishes and recipes.
Historically the Sunday roast was part of our identity; pub food often evokes the idea of a pie or sausage roll, and where would a picnic be without a pork pie or scotch egg, or a full English (Welsh, Scottish or Northern Irish) without sausage and bacon? This is, of course, a sweeping generalisation. The UK is made up of many cultures and cuisines, but meat is still a mainstay for many of us. A quick sweep of the sandwich and snack section of any supermarket still gives you plenty of ‘meat’ choices. I include chicken here; the footprint of poultry is smaller than that of beef, but we consume an extraordinary amount of chicken – more than 1 billion are reared in the UK per year.
The Climate Change Committee recommends that we reduce the amount of meat and dairy we eat by approximately 20% by 2030 and 50% by 2050. In simpler terms, by ‘two kebabs per week’, so not a huge amount overall. It’s effective if we all (worldwide) make the effort to give up a little, rather than fewer of us making the far bigger commitment to eating none at all. This short and sweet video (the power of Lego) on persuading friends to give up one thing illustrates the collective effect. And many of us have made great strides in cutting back – not committing to no meat but to eating a little less of it.
Campaigns such as Bang In Some Beans are also pushing this message, advocating adding beans and pulses (fibre plus protein) to a familiar meat dish, either by replacing some of the meat or by adding them to make the dish go further. The message is not ‘no meat’ but ‘less meat’. On average, we (in the UK) bought 857g per week each in 2023, down from 1 kg in 2020, so meat-eating is generally in decline. But not for all of us.
A YouGov dietary choices tracker from 2025 shows that women are 50% more likely to identify as vegan or plant-based than men, and according to polling in a report brought out in 2025 by Hubbub, young men aged 16-24 in particular are bucking the less-meat trend. They say that 40% of young men eat meat daily, and around the same number are unwilling to cut back. Trying to unpick why is both fascinating and alarming. I spoke to Mark Breen MacCormick from Hubbub and Josh Clamp, The Men’s Health Nutritionist. Mark shared some data and insight from research that Hubbub presented last year in a report called The Steaks are High and Josh spoke about his experience coaching men towards healthier life choices.
The manosphere could be said to contribute to this trend of men eating more meat; there’s no lack of online content that advocates eating meat in order to be more manly. Some frankly ludicrous health advice swirls around on platforms like TikTok (only 2% of health advice on that particular platform is factually correct). Protein is an easy sell to young men who want to be healthier, look better and ‘optimise’ themselves.
Josh pointed out that only 10% of dietitians/nutritionists are men, and there’s a gap in male-specific, evidence-based nutritional support available. Into that gap rushes the loudest voices with the most attention-grabbing content. Influencers with huge followings peddle some fairly extreme meat-filled diets, but plant-based protein is not niche or extreme, nor does it come with the same mythology. It simply doesn’t play as well on social media, and if that’s where income is derived, then satisfying the algorithm that delivers the cash and therefore ratchets up all the time isn’t ever going to end well.
At the same time, the trends around young men’s meat consumption predate current manosphere discourse. An increase in time spent online and algorithmic targeting built on a long cultural inheritance was accelerated by Covid. The Hubbub research exposes this; there’s still an embarrassment factor where men don’t want to order a vegetarian option on the menu. Meat is a social signal. Where does the fault lie if impressionable young men get sucked into believing that they must eat meat every day to achieve their goals? On social media platforms, diet advice slides into messaging on body ideals and, in turn, into behavioural cues and then, a reframing of worldview. In the era of endless scrolling, the first video isn’t the problem – the 50th and beyond are. Each is influenced by the one before.
Josh also pointed out that there’s a mistrust in science among young men. Older men he worked with may respond to education about diet, but younger men often don’t. When identity is so bound up in dietary choices, facts can sound like personal attacks. This cohort is not naïve or unaware but constrained by external influences. As Mark noted, the volume of misinformation overwhelms rational choice.
There is a vacuum of positive, trustworthy male role models like Josh in the nutritional space. Young men need identity‑affirming narratives that frame different, more diverse foods in the context of who and what they want to be in life. Reducing meat consumption shouldn’t be about loss but a redefinition of what is good for you, what helps make a better future, and, right now, what is affordable.
Questions to ask your butcher It’s also important to educate people as to how to buy good meat. Eating less meat potentially means you can afford the best, so here are some questions to ask your butcher from Keith Kendrick – no stranger to the best butchers in London.
- “Where does this meat actually come from?”
- “What’s the difference between cut X and cut Y, and which one should I buy?”
- “Is the beef dry-aged, and for how long?”
- “What would you do with X piece of meat if you were cooking it tonight?”
- “What are you eating at home this week, and can I buy some for myself?”
- “What’s the best value cut on the counter right now?”
- “How should I store X, and how long will it keep?”
- “Can you mince/bone/butterfly/tie this for me?”
source https://www.bbcgoodfood.com/news-trends/meat-and-masculinity-what-is-driving-young-mens-diets
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