Healthy scepticism

27-Feb-2007 - Last updated on 14-Mar-2017 at 15:54 GMT

Consumers tend to be greener in word than deed, but environmental and health concerns are moving up the agenda, says Elaine Watson

Sadly, this survey went out just before Bernard Matthews hit the headlines and breathless broadcasters told us all not to panic before issuing dire warnings about the impact of avian flu on poultry sales.

But the latest consumer poll conducted for Food Manufacture by Harris Interactive does make interesting reading for anyone in the business of selling meat, fish or poultry.

While they have been known to say one thing and do another, a significant minority of consumers polled claimed to be moderating their consumption of red meat owing to health concerns (12%) or environmental worries (7%), while a whopping 29% claimed to be concerned about the depletion of fish stocks. Moreover, 6% of women and 3% of men claimed to be eating more meat substitutes such as Quorn specifically because of health concerns about red meat.

Perhaps the most interesting finding from this survey, was the gender gap. Women were far more concerned about the environmental impact of meat production than men, with twice as many females as males planning to eat less red meat owing to concerns about greenhouse gas emissions.

The fairer sex, it seems, was also far more concerned about the possible health risks associated with red meat than men, with far more women than men claiming to be eating more white meat, fish and protein substitutes such as Quorn as a result.

Health worries about white meat were not widespread (remember this survey was conducted before avian flu struck Suffolk), but were nevertheless more widely held by women than men, with 5% of women claiming to be eating less poultry owing to health concerns, as opposed to 2% of men.

The most surprising result was the 29% of consumers claiming they weren't planning to eat more fish because of concerns over depleting fish stocks. Whether this was a leading question or a reflection of growing anxiety about over fishing is a moot point, but it probably warrants further scrutiny.

As for demographics, our poll detected few variations in responses, apart from a tendency for Londoners to claim to be eating more meat substitutes like Quorn than consumers elsewhere in the UK owing to health concerns about red meat. As for class differences, there was also a tendency amongst those in social grade AB to claim to be more concerned about their health and the environment. FM

This national poll was conducted online by Harris Interactive on January 10-15, 2007, among 2,102 adults aged over 16 years in Britain. For more information, contact Brendan Russell. BRussell@harrisinteractive.com 0208 263 5382