Dutch people choose vegetarian food for a quarter of their main meals. That appears from research published on Tuesday from the Central Bureau of Statistics (CBS) in collaboration with the RIVM and the Nutrition Center. The researchers see how a growing number of Dutch people are opting for vegetarian options more often than before. Yet it appears that a large proportion of Dutch people cannot do without meat with their meal; almost a third (31 percent) indicate that they never choose a vegetarian main meal.
On average, Dutch people eat a vegetarian main meal one or two days a week. The majority of Dutch people indicate that they eat meat, but not every day. Almost a quarter of Dutch people (22 percent) say they consume a main meal without meat or fish for three days, the so-called flexitarians. 43 percent of Dutch people have a vegetarian main meal one or two days a week.
Three percent of Dutch people always choose a vegetarian main meal. 5 percent of Dutch people do not eat meat at all. That group consists of two percent who consume fish, two percent who eat neither meat nor fish and half a percent who follow a completely plant-based diet.
Meat prices play a bigger role
Climate concerns have become the main reason for eating less meat since last year. By 2023, 35 percent saw concerns about the climate crisis as the main driver for curbing meat consumption. In 2020, health was still the most important motivation. According to Statistics Netherlands, the price of meat played a greater role in 2023 than in other years for eating less meat.
According to Statistics Netherlands, there is also a connection between eating habits and education level. People with a university education are more likely to choose vegetarian options — 45 percent eat vegetarian all the time or at least three times a week. That share is lower — 32 percent — among Dutch people with a higher professional education. Among people with a (pre) vocational or senior general secondary education/pre-university education, almost a fifth (19 percent) always or at least three times a week choose a vegetarian meal.
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