Eating together key to meat-free diets

The people we eat with can affect our meat consumption, according to a new survey. Researchers at Brighton and Sussex Medical School (BSMS) studied participants over a month as part of a project run in partnership with Meat Free Monday.

They found that participants living with people who don’t regularly eat meat were more likely to have meat-free days, while traditional approaches to promoting healthier, more sustainable diets focus on personal choice,

Professor of Health Psychology at BSMS, Richard de Visser, said: “Eating habits do not develop in isolation. Our findings show that the people around us can have an important influence on our ability to make dietary changes. This suggests there’s real value in creating supportive communities that make it easier for people to adopt and maintain healthier and more sustainable diets.”