Less and less meat on our plates, really? More and more French people say in any case that they have reviewed their eating habits in this sense in a barometer published on Tuesday by thee Climate Action Network (RAC)federation of environmental NGOs, with Harris Interactive polling institute. 57% of French people say they have reduced their meat consumption in the last three years and 39% want to do so in the next three. In both cases, it is nine points more compared to the first edition of the barometer, in 2021.
Eating better and less meat is at the heart of animal welfare issues but also of the ecological transition, while the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) estimates the breeding at the origin 14.5% of global greenhouse gas emissions.
Inflation pushing down consumption
However, the consumption of meat still decreases relatively little in the actual practices of the French. “It reached a peak at the end of the 1990s and then decreased in a proven way between 1990 and 2012, begins Benoît Grarnier, food manager at RAC. But, since then, it has not decreased or very little. The figures vary from one source to another but we are around 100 grams per day and per French person, which is still about twice as much as the generation of our grandparents and twice as much as what it would take to have a healthy and sustainable diet. »
Nevertheless, the approach of consuming less meat is becoming more and more popular, consoles the RAC based on the results of the barometer. For 53% of respondents, this decrease that they have undertaken or that they say they want to do, aims first and foremost to save money in the current context of inflation. This concern therefore tops the list of reasons given, ahead of health. But ecological considerations also climb the rankings. 45% of respondents mention this argument among the reasons that led them to change their eating habits. That is six points more than in 2021.
Eat meat every day, a precept that has lead in the wing
Moreover, they are only a minority (41%) to consider that meat should be eaten every day. At the same time, the alternatives are gradually asserting themselves. To compensate for the nutrient contribution of meat, the French would prefer pulses and legumes (80%) [ce qui ne se vérifie pas à ce jour dans les assiettes], cereals and seeds (78%), and minimally processed foods derived from them, again according to this barometer. On the other hand, the consumption of seaweed (41%), synthetic meats (26%) and insects (21%) are solutions that have not yet been considered.
So much for food evolutions. “This barometer also sought to test the opinion of the French on a certain number of measures that the public authorities could take to encourage less meat consumption”, continues Benoît Granier. Among these, vegetarian menus in collective catering. The Climate and Resilience Law of August 2021 made it mandatory to offer a vegetarian menu in school canteens, from kindergarten to high school. “It also gives them the possibility of offering a daily vegetarian option or two vegetarian meals per week where only one menu can be offered,” recalls the RAC food manager. But the government does not push at all in this direction, so that few canteens have been so far. However, making this daily vegetarian option compulsory was a key measure of the citizens’ convention for the climate. “And, according to our barometer, 81% of French people are in favor of it,” continues Benoît Granier.
Political meetings not to be missed
The subject could come back to the table of the National Assembly next Thursday when the ecological deputies wish to take advantage of their parliamentary niche to push a “Better Eating” Bill, one of whose articles would return to the principle of a daily vegetarian menu in canteens. “But the presidential majority withdrew it during the examination of the commission bill,” laments Benoît Granier who still hopes that amendments from deputies will push in the opposite direction next Thursday.
The RAC does not stop at vegetarian meals in school canteens. With 38 other associations, he also signs, this Tuesday, an appeal “for a real National Food, Nutrition and Climate Strategy “. The Climate and Resilience Law, again, has instructed the government to publish its Snanc by July 1. “It should be discussed immediately by parliament,” says Benoît Granier.
This collective lists around twenty measures so that this strategy goes in the direction of a more sustainable and healthier diet in France. “On meat consumption, the challenge is to go for the least and the best, specifies Benoît Granier. With this in mind, we are pushing for a ban on advertising and marketing of products that are unhealthy and unhealthy, which would include meat products from intensive and unsustainable farming. Here again, according to the barometer, 83% of French people say they are in favor.