The Rise Of The Flexitarian

It’s a way of eating that started to gain some attention a few years ago when ex-Beatle, Sir Paul McCartney, launched an initiative called Meat Free Monday. The idea is simple. The campaign encourages people to have at least one meat-free day each week, usually Monday.

Paul, a committed vegetarian, launched Meat Free Monday for conservation reasons but a growing number of people are reducing their meat intake for health reasons, too. British research recently found around one in eight people say they are vegetarian or vegan and more than one in five people are ‘meat reducers’ or ‘flexitarians’.

The definition of a flexitarian is essentially someone who has a normally meatless or vegetarian diet but occasionally includes meat or fish. It’s also referred to as casual vegetarianism – you don’t totally cut out meat, but you eat less of it.

The new vegetarianism

“For a lot of people, the idea of being vegetarian makes them want to head for the hills but at the same time, they don’t mind vegetarian food when it is served to them,” says Clare Collins, Professor of Nutrition and Dietetics at Australia’s University of Newcastle.

“I’ve also heard a flexitarian defined as someone who consciously reduces their meat intake on three or more days a week. I like that definition and the idea of consciously cutting down on how much meat you eat without describing yourself as vegetarian.

“I think we are seeing more people following a flexitarian diet because of concerns about the impact of a high meat intake on the environment.

For some people the choice is about animal liberation or equity. For others, eating less meat is a practical issue related to the cost of meat while some are interested in flexitarian eating for health reasons.”

Meat and climate change