UK meat consumption at lowest level since records began, data reveals

Average of 854g a week eaten at home in 2022, with the 14% decline since 2012 driven by cost of living crisis and lifestyle changes

People in the UK consumed less meat last year than at any point since records began in the 1970s, in a trend driven by the cost of living crisis, the continued impact of Covid and broader lifestyle changes.

Data released by the government showed that Britons ate less meat at home in the year to March 2022 than at any point since 1974, with the average person eating 854g (1.88lbs) a week. That was down from 976g the previous year and 949g in 2019-20, before the Covid-19 pandemic.