Swiss people are eating less meat and following flexitarian diets
St.Gallen - The Swiss population is eating less meat, with the trend pointing towards flexitarian diets. However, fewer households are opting for purely plant-based diets. The consumption of products developed on the basis of cow’s milk remains popular, while sustainability is playing a more significant role in dietary choices. These are the findings obtained by researchers from the University of St.Gallen.
(CONNECT) People in Switzerland are eating meat less frequently and following more sustainable diets overall, although they are not ready to ditch animal-based products entirely. These findings come as part of the “Planetary Health Diet in Switzerland 2024 – Trends and Developments” study carried out by researchers at the Institute of Retail Management of the University of St.Gallen, which has now been presented in a press release.
Accordingly, dietary data on Swiss households was collected over a period of three years on the basis of the Swiss Nutrition Atlas - a database that analyses the eating habits of representative households in Switzerland using purchasing data - and with financial support from Danone Switzerland AG.
This revealed that between 2022 and 2024, the number of omnivorous households that consume both meat and plant-based products fell from 70.6 percent to 63.6 percent. In contrast, the proportion of households pursuing flexitarian diets rose from 18.3 percent to 26.6 percent. A decline was recorded in relation to purely vegan diets, which fell from 0.5 percent to 0.3 percent across the period under review.
According to the data, plant-based milk products are not an option for the majority of Swiss people. The market share of such products has only risen from 10.2 percent to 11.5 percent over the past two years, the report states. This development can be explained by traditional consumption habits or a lack of knowledge about the health and ecological advantages and disadvantages of the alternatives.
Moderate growth of two percentage points was also recorded in terms of healthy and sustainable diets. Nevertheless, this means that just 13 percent of the households surveyed meet the requirements of the Planetary Health Diet in terms of the consumption of products of animal origin.
For Dr. Matthias Eggenschwiler, co-author of the study, the figures show that while the transition to more sustainable eating habits is certainly underway, progress is somewhat sluggish. “Reduced meat consumption indicates a growing awareness of sustainable nutrition. However, a complete transition to a planetary health diet remains a challenge for the majority of the population”, he explains. ce/heg