“Many people feel alone in their desire to eat less meat,” explained Eating Better executive director Sarah Wakefield as she revealed the findings of the alliance’s public attitudes survey this week.
The survey of 1,733 people showed two-thirds of are open to the idea of reducing how much meat they eat, yet the majority believe that fewer than 40% of others would be open to doing so. “The findings show that public appetite for change is greater than many assume,” Eater Better noted in an accompanying report written with The Food Foundation.
Other findings include: 22% are eating less meat than a year ago; almost 50% eat meat less than four times a week; and just 10% have increased their consumption of meat.
The type of meat reduced by the most people (30%) was lamb, closely followed by processed meat (29%).
Fresh chicken saw the most notable rise – 26% of those surveyed said they have increased how much they eat over the past year.
Brits certainly have a craving for chicken currently – and the foodservice sector is giving them what they want. Domino’s this month announced it is diversifying from pizza with the launch of Chick ‘N’ Dip, a new chicken-focused sub-brand aimed at tapping into the demand.
“Chicken is sizzling in the UK’s fast food scene,” noted Circana in an August update. Servings are up 6%, making it one of the few bright spots in an otherwise tough trading environment. Supermarkets are also now offering ‘fakeaway’ alternatives, from Southern-fried fillets to boneless tenders. “Chicken’s strength lies in its versatility, accessibility, and health appeal. It’s seen as a lighter, more ‘permissible’ alternative to red meat, but still delivers the flavour and satisfaction consumers crave,” said Circana head of foodservice Seton Leung.
Higher demand means more pressure on production – especially if fast food chains remain desperate to keep prices low. The latest figures from Defra, reported by Poultry News, show the number of chickens in England increased by 3.5% to 133 million in 2025, which is the first increase in total numbers since 2021.
The problems – environmental, economic, social and ethical – with the expansion of intensive systems are being more widely reported. Are regulators really listening to the alarm bells? The system is clearly creaking, with the NFU 2025 broiler shed survey, published in late August, highlighting “the need for investment in poultry housing in the UK in order to provide farmers with the best opportunities to meet animal welfare and environmental commitments, and also contribute positively towards overall food security”.
“With the average broiler house now over 30 years old and refurbishment rates low, producers are being asked to meet higher welfare and environmental standards without any support for investment in infrastructure,” said NFU Poultry Board members Richard Williams and Matthew Donald in a statement. “We’ve seen a huge drop-off in broiler house building over the last five years which correlates with a dip in producer confidence. If left to fester this will significantly impact food security,” they added.
This week the NFU raced to meet the new Defra secretary, Emma Reynolds, who replaced Steve Reed in a mini reshuffle. Farming minister Daniel Zeichner was also sacked; Dame Angela Eagle has taken that job.
No doubt the meeting will have touched upon another survey showing 56.1% of English farmers reduced their cropped arable area to take part in agri-environment schemes for this year’s harvest. Over the whole of the UK the figure was 42.3%, according to the Agriculture and Horticulture Development Board. Regions with traditionally intensive arable farming were found to be most likely to shift their land-use practice, reported Farmers Weekly in its analysis of the figures. A key concern, raised by the AHDB, is “ensuring government incentives do not encourage farmers to withdraw productive land from use”.
And that brings us to a couple of final notes this week, which include a freedom of information request showing that thousands of farmers are currently in limbo as payments through a long-running nature scheme – Countryside Stewardship – are set to end.
And in better news for farming, Sustain has revealed a £600m opportunity for the sector in expanding to universal school meals. The ‘Follow the Carrot’ report is available here but you can also read more about it in other articles this week:
