Two thirds of Brits claim they would ‘rather die than give up meat’

A whopping 67% of people have said they would rather sacrifice five to 10 years of their life rather than give up meat.

A national survey of 2,000 people, conducted by OnePoll on behalf of No Meat May found that 51% of Brits associate a diet with a lot of meat to be “masculine”.

They viewed vegetarian (36%) and vegan (35%) diets as ”feminine”.

Meanwhile, One third (30%) of men believe humans are meant to eat meat compared to less than a quarter (22%) of women.

And, more than one in 20 people (6%) said they’d rather go to jail than stop eating meat.

The shocking statistic rose to 11% for those aged 25-34, reports the Metro.

Plus, 27% of men would rather give up coffee and 19% would rather give up alcohol than meat.

And, 18% said they would stop eating meat if it improved their sexual performance and 35% said they would sacrifice if it improved their health.

Women said that health implications are the main reasons they would consider switching to a vegetarian or vegan diet.

A whopping 38% said they would stop eating meat if it improved their health, 36% if it reduced their chance of developing certain cancers, and 33% if they dropped a stone or more in weight.

Women were also more intrigued by reducing their consumption of animal products than blokes.

A huge 60% of women were either somewhat or very interested in reducing their meat intake, compared to 51% of men.

Meanwhile, women are actually less likely than men to date someone who is vegan – 39% of women said they would prefer not to date someone who is vegan, compared to 37% of men.

And, 54% of 25-34 year olds – both men and women – say they wouldn’t date a vegan.

The figure is compared to just 27% of those aged over 65.

The data also showed that the younger generation is more likely to eat meat to fit in.

21% of 16-34 year olds said they’ve eaten meat to fit in with friends or family, compared to just 8% of people over 65, and 20% said they’ve eaten meat to avoid appearing fussy when eating out, compared to 6% of people over 65.

And, while 76% of those asked said they cared about the environment only 26% were willing to stop eating meat to reduce their environmental impact.

Only 20% would give up meat to help future generations.

While 42% thought boring food choices were the biggest issue with going vegan.

And 32% said they wouldn’t know what to eat.

Dr Shireen Kassam, founder of Plant Based Health Professionals UK, says: “This survey highlights a real disconnect between the science and public attitudes relating to meat consumption.

“Given that eating meat, particularly red and processed meat, is a leading risk factor for some of our commonest chronic illnesses, it is quite alarming to learn how entrenched some myths and beliefs about a vegan diet actually are."

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She continued: “This is undoubtedly a result of decades of effective marketing and PR by the meat industry.

“The truth is that removing meat from the diet and replacing it with healthy plant foods is one of the best things you can do for your personal health.

“This includes lowering your risk of heart disease (the leading cause of death for men and women), type 2 diabetes, certain cancers and maintaining a healthy weight.

“There is even evidence to suggest that avoiding meat improves sexual function and sperm quality in men.”

No Meat May is a charity campaign which asks Brits to eliminate meat from their diets for 31 days for health, environmental and social reasons.

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