Between 2008 and 2011, just 6.7 per cent of Britons reported consuming plant-based alternatives to traditional foods, such as oat milk, vegan sausages and Quorn minced meat.
Double this proportion of people (13.1%) ate these foods between 2017 and 2019, and as a result, the total amount of plant-based foods consumed has more than doubled.
The increase is not due solely to an increase in veganism, but to carnivores reducing their consumption and making the occasional decision to avoid animal products.
However, those who considered themselves low-meat eaters were found to consume, on average, four times as many plant-based products as “high-meat” people, consuming 18.6 grams a day compared to 4.8 grams.
Studies also show that eating a herbivorous diet can have negative health implications if people don’t consciously replace the nutrients and minerals they would otherwise get through meat or meat products.
For example, Canadian research found that children raised on a vegetarian diet are twice as likely to be underweight as their meat-eating friends.
The researchers found that, from a nutritional standpoint, there was no discernible difference in growth between children who were vegetarians and those who ate animal foods.
However, Dr. Maguire found that there was a link between vegetarianism and low weight.
Scientists at the University of Leeds found that middle-aged vegetarian women are more likely to break their hip than their omnivorous peers.
Vegetarians can have a hard time getting enough nutrients into their body, which can lead to weaker muscles and bones, and the new study shows that women are at a third higher risk of breaking their hip if they’re vegetarian.
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