Determinants of Vegetarianism and Meat Consumption Frequency

Eimear Leahy, Seán Lyons & Richard Tol

Methane emissions by commodity

beef

milk

poultry

pork

sheep meat

Meat consumption increased by 250% 1960-2002 -set to double by 2050

Increasing world population

Increasing wealth in less developed countries

Portion sizes increasing

Methane emissions by region

Oceania

North Amer-ica

Latin Amer-ica

Europe

Asia and Pacific

Africa

Limited scope for reducing methane emissions by technical measures

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Vegetarians

Strict Vegetarians

Vegans

Vegetarianism and Income

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10%

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30%

40%

50%

60%

0 5000 10000 15000 20000 25000 30000 35000

Per Capita Income PPP

% V

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Determinants of Vegetarianism: Literature

• The factors affecting meat demand have been studied at a micro level-in Ireland Newman et al. (2001)-in the USA Nayga (1995)-in the UK Burton et al. (1994, 1999, 2004)-in Japan Chern et al. (2002) -in Mexico by Gould et al. (2002)

• Meat demand is affected by income, household size, education level and professional status.

• Motivations of vegetarians have been studied but small or unrepresentative samples used-Beardsworth and Bryman (1999): 350 first year undergraduates-Jabs, Devine and Sobal (1998): middle class vegetarian group, 19 respondents-Fox and Ward (2008): online message board: 33 respondents

Vegetarianism in England

0.0%

0.5%

1.0%

1.5%

2.0%

2.5%

3.0%

3.5%

1960 1965 1970 1975 1980 1985 1990 1995 2000 2005 2010

All-vegetarian householdsVegetarians

Vegetarianism in Ireland

1984 1988 1992 1996 2000 2004 20080.0%

0.2%

0.4%

0.6%

0.8%

1.0%

1.2%

1.4%All-vegetarian householdsVegetarians

Data• Health Survey for England 2008

- 15,102 adults, 7,521 children- In 2008 the focus was on physical activity and fitness- also questions on eating and drinking habits, general

health, bmi, income, education level, socio-economic status, ethnicity, marital status, region- consumption of red and white meat:

6+ times a week, 3-5, 1-2, <1, rarely or never

• Vegetarian Definition : someone that does not eat meat, poultry, game, fish, shellfish or by-products of slaughter - We also analyse the frequency of fish consumption

Data

• 2007 Survey of Lifestyles, Attitudes and Nutrition (SLÁN) in Ireland

• 10,364 adults aged 18 and over - range of questions about general health, fruit and

vegetable consumption, alcohol consumption, smoking, and physical activity

- also contains information on income and other socio-economic variables

- 9,223 adults completed a food frequency questionnaire- Consumption of medium sized portions of 21 meat items;

less than once a month or never, one–three times per month, once a week, two-four times per week, 5-6 times per week, once a day, 2-3 times per day, 4-5 times per day or 6 or more times per day

- 7 categories of fish included

Methods• Separate analyses for adults and children in England, just adults

in Ireland• Vegetarianism: Logit model. Dependent variable =1 if

respondent does not eat meat/fish, 0 otherwise1.6% do not eat meat in Ireland, >4% in England0.94% vegetarian in Ireland, 2.2% in England

Pescetarianism: Dependent variable = 1 if respondent does not eat meat but does eat fish, 0 otherwise0.66% pescetarian in Ireland, 2% in England

• Analysis of meat and fish consumption frequency-ordered logit model-combined red meat, white meat and fish consumption scales

>5% eat meat 2-4 times a week or less in Ireland, 23% in England

Results: England

Vegetarian Pescetarian

BMI - -

Fruit & Veg + +

HH size - -

Female + +

Other vegetarians + +

Asian + -

Age -

Days drinking -

Widowed -

Divorced +

3 -24 people in workplace +

Degree or higher level of education +

Results: IrelandVegetarian Pescetarian

BMI - -Fruit & Veg + +HH size -Single + +Educ_junior - -

Vegetarian Pescetarian

€10,000-€19,999 - alcohol_monthly +

€20,000 -€20,999 - alcohol_never +

€30,000 -€39,999 - excellent health -

€40,000 - €40,999 - poor health +

age_18-29 - self employed +

age_45-64 - unemployed +

born other - widowed +

town -

cohabiting +

student +

Frequency Results: England

Meat Consumption Meat and Fish ConsumptionHH size + +BMI + +Units of alcohol + +Alcohol days per week + +Fruit & Veg +Asian - -A level + +O level + +£100,001 - £150,000 + +Divorced - -Single - -Female -Southwest - -Yorkshire and Humber -East -London -Cohabiting -Other vegetarians in hh -

Frequency Results: Ireland

Also important for meat frequency:

Dublin –

Cohabiting –Separated -

Meat Consumption Meat and Fish ConsumptionHH size + +BMI + +Female - -Active - -Watch weight - -Smoker + +Fruit & Veg + +Alcohol Monthly or less - -Age 18-29 + +Age 45-64 - -Age 65 and over - -Born in GB - -€30,000-€30,999 + +€40,000-€40,999 + +Diploma - -Degree - -Higher degree - -Professionals - -Farmer + +Student - -

Vegetarianism and Income: England

< £10,400£20,401 - £31,200

£41,601 - £52,000

£60,001 - £70,000

£80,001 - £90,000

£100,001 - £150,000

0%

1%

2%

3%

4%

5%

6%

7%

Vegetarianism and Income: Ireland

Under €10,000 €10,000 - €19,999

€20,000 - €29,999

€30,000 - €39,999

€40,000 - €49,999

€50,000 and over

0.0%

0.5%

1.0%

1.5%

2.0%

2.5%

Conclusion

• Vegetarianism increasing over time in England and Ireland

• Strong relationship between meat consumption and health related variables (e.g. fruit and veg, BMI) but as of yet we cannot tell the direction of causation

• Marital status, age and household size also important

• Pescetarianism is a life style choice as indicated by workplace and employment choices

• Household size, health variables, education level and alcohol consumption important in explaining the frequency of meat consumption

• Income significant in Ireland but not in UK. U- shaped relationship exists for income levels up to €50,000