Britons go vegan as cost of living crisis bites: Sales of beef plummet 13.7% and lamb drops by 23.7% as families ditch meat and fish in bid to save money

• Britons are steadily ditching meat and fish as costs soared in recent months
• Figures show sales of every type of meat and fish have nosedived in 12 weeks
• It’s thought millions of families are cutting down on meat due to cost of living
• Elsewhere, grocery stores are making £4.68 billion from vegetarian consumers

Cash-strapped Britons appear to be forgoing expensive cuts of meat and fish in an effort to save money as the cost of living crisis continues to bite.

Volume sales of every type of meat, fish and poultry have nosedived in the past 12 weeks compared to the same period last year as prices have soared and only chicken has seen a rise in spending, though it is only an increase of 0.6 per cent.

It is thought some families may be switching from expensive cuts to cheaper chicken options for their protein.

Year on year comparisons by analysts Kantar for The Grocer show the amount of chicken sold is down 9.7 per cent, compared to falls of 13.7 per cent for beef, 10.6 per cent for pork, 23.7 per cent for lamb and 11.6 per cent for fish.

It is thought millions of families are cutting back on their red meat and fish intake in particular.

Year on year comparisons by analysts Kantar for The Grocer show the amount of pork sold in the past 12 weeks has fallen by 10.6 per cent

The same research found the amount of chicken sold is down 9.7 per cent, although it has accrued a 0.6 per cent rise in spending

Sales of fish products over the past 12 weeks are also down by 11.6 per cent

Figures for the amount spent also suggest that many may be moving to cheaper sources of protein, hence the small but significant rise in value sales for chicken.

This comes as the amount spent on beef fell by 7.7 per cent in value, pork by 5.9 per cent, lamb by 14.4 per cent and fish by 8.0 per cent.

Recent Retail Price Index figures for food bought by ordinary shoppers showed the average price of a roasting joint of beef had risen by 9.8 per cent to £11.34 over the year to April, while chicken had risen by 10.4 per cent to £3 a kilo.

Elsewhere, the VoucherCodes.co.uk Food Spend Report reveals that vegans are consistently spending more on groceries, eating out and takeaways than the national average, with a total food spend of £14.02 billion a year (£8,760 per person).

The amount of lamb sold in the UK has fallen the most drastically in the past 12 weeks, down by 23.7 per cent

Beef sales are down by 13.7 per cent, as a recent Retail Price Index figures showed the average price of a roasting joint of beef had risen by 9.8 per cent to £11.34 over the year to April

Cash-strapped Britons appear to be forgoing expensive cuts of meat and fish in an effort to save money as the cost of living crisis continues to bite

Lamb is being removed from some school dinners because it is ‘too expensive’ and the meat content of burgers reduced from 80 per cent to 50 per cent as caterers try to cope with rising food costs.   

A survey by the Soil Association found 47 per cent of school meal providers fear the won’t be able to meet legally mandated food requirements.

Ben Jonson primary school in Tower Hamlets – which cooks meals for around 600 children – has been sneaking greens into burgers so they use less meat and serving smaller portions. Lamb has come off the menu for cost reasons. 

‘Substitutions are happening all the time,’ kitchen manager Pauline Gati said. 

Laira Green Primary School in Plymouth had previously served local Cornish beef for its Thursday roast dinners, but has now switched to cheaper gammon instead.

It is also serving less chicken and replacing it with turkey.

The school is one of nearly 70 in the city served by the same catering company, which is adapting menus in response to price rises, the BBC reported.

This means that vegan consumers are spending almost a third more than the national average on groceries (£2802 per person), and twice the national average on food each year (£4,488 per person).

Vegetarian consumers also spend more than the national average on groceries each year, with an average spend of £2,928 per head per year. As a result, grocery retailers are making £4.68 billion from vegetarian consumers each year.

The report reveals that meat-free alternatives are driving up the cost of groceries for vegan and vegetarian consumers. On average, vegans spend £35 per month buying meat substitute products such as Tofu, Quorn and Seitan, and vegetarians follow shortly behind at £27 per month. In contrast, the average meat-eating shopper spends just £21 on meat.

Glesni Phillips, a data analyst for Meat Promotion Wales, told The Grocer: ‘In previous periods where there has been a squeeze on living standards, there can be shifts in demand for different proteins.

‘All proteins are experiencing increases in their average prices, but fish remains the most expensive protein, followed by lamb, and, despite one of the biggest price rises, chicken remains the cheapest protein.

‘Product choice is the main way shoppers are choosing to manage inflation now, and so shoppers are switching between cuts in order to save money.’

Many in the industry believe the falls are not part of the growing vegetarian movement but a reaction to higher prices which is affecting all sectors, not just meat products.

Oils, sauces, spreads, dairy and a host of other products have been affected by price rises caused by runaway inflation particularly to the costs of production because of the war in Ukraine and its effects on energy.

Rebecca Veale of the National Pig Association, added: ‘Knowing that consumers like to buy British pork, we do not believe that any reduction in consumption should displace British product and call on retail and foodservice to champion British meat and pay a fair price for it.

‘In order for British pork to remain on the shelves, a fair price needs to be paid to producers.’

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