Are we nearing, or have we already reached, a global peak in meat consumption?
The significance of this question is clear. Meat consumption disproportionately affects climate change, biodiversity, human health, and land use, far beyond its nutritional value. Given our audience’s familiarity with these impacts, we’ll skip the statistics.
The straightforward response is no—global meat production and consumption are still increasing and are projected to continue their upward trend.
But, there is an important “but”!
This growth is partly fueled by population increases, which are themselves slowing down. Furthermore, recent data suggest that per capita meat consumption may be plateauing, hinting at a potential shift in dietary trends.
Europe’s Declining Meat Consumption: A Closer Look
And if we look to Europe, we see the tides are turning. Five years ago, the average European consumed almost 70 kg, compared to 66,1 kg in 2023. That’s a decline of more than 5%. And if we look at beef alone the decline is almost 10%. This means that even if Europe is still experiencing population growth, the total meat consumption is falling (by 1% over the last five years).
Look closer and zoom in on Sweden, the trend is even more pronounced. Here the peak meat was reached already in 2015 and since then, meat consumption per capita has declined by more than 10% and the total meat consumption by 3%.
Meat consumption pr. capita in Sweden
True, Swedes are still eating much more meat than they did just few decades ago: The average meat consumption increased by 50% from the mid 80s to 2015 – a good reminder, that we don’t have to go very far back to find inspiration to more flexitarian diet.
But the recent decline in meat consumption in Sweden presents a solid trend, also noticeable in Europe as a whole. Add to that stagnating population growth and it looks like the peak meat is already behind us in Europe and might be might be closer than we thought globally!
👀 Stay tuned and don’t be afraid to become a part of the trend
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