A recent study by the website Nu.nl on the eating habits of the Dutch population shows that a large proportion of Dutch people have significantly reduced their meat consumption. For example, a good two out of five respondents indicated that they consumed much less steak and far fewer burgers last year than they did previously.
Nu.nl interviewed a total of 20,000 Dutch people about their eating habits. About one third said that they consume meat every day. However, one in ten respondents said they were vegetarian and 7% said they were vegan.
Vegetarians, like vegans, cited animal welfare and the numerous problems associated with factory farming as their main reasons for not eating meat. Amongst meat eaters who reduced their meat consumption, about 50% cited animal rights reasons, but far more said they did so for environmental reasons.
The market for plant-based substitutes in the Netherlands has been growing steadily for some time, albeit not as strongly as in other European countries. According to data collected by the IRI analyst group for the first eleven months of 2018, total sales of meat products amounted to around €2 billion, whilst sales of substitute products amounted to a healthy €97 million. This means that there is still strong development potential in this area.
