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Determinants of Vegetarianism and Meat Consumption Frequency. Eimear Leahy, Se á n Lyons & Richard Tol. Methane emissions by commodity. Meat consumption increased by 250% 1960-2002 -set to double by 2050 Increasing world population Increasing wealth in less developed countries
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Determinants of Vegetarianism and Meat Consumption Frequency Eimear Leahy, Seán Lyons & Richard Tol
Methane emissions by commodity Meat consumption increased by 250% 1960-2002 -set to double by 2050 Increasing world population Increasing wealth in less developed countries Portion sizes increasing
Methane emissions by region Limited scope for reducing methane emissions by technical measures
South Africa 1993 Australia 2003/04 Timor Leste 2001 Ivory Coast 1985 Ivory Coast 1987 Ivory Coast 1988 Kyrgyzstan 1993 Azerbaijan 1995 Guatemala 2000 Tajikistan 1999 Russia 1993/94 Germany 2003 Nepal 2003/04 Tanzania 1993 Vietnam 2006 Vietnam 1992 Bulgaria 1995 Jamaica 1991 Jamaica 1992 Jamaica 2000 Jamaica 1999 Jamaica 2004 Jamaica 2007 UK 2002-03 UK 2003-04 France 1995 France 2001 France 2006 Ireland 2004 Ireland 1987 Bosnia 2001 Serbia 2007 Serbia 2002 Serbia 2003 Brazil 1997 China 1997 India 1998 USA 1981 USA 1980 USA 1995 USA 1992 USA 1994 USA 2001 USA 2003 USA 1996 USA 2000 USA 1997 USA 2002 USA 1998 USA 1999 USA 2005 UK 1968 UK 1963 UK 1973 UK 1971 UK 1978 UK 1980 UK 1982 UK 1985 UK 1986 UK 1989 UK 1987 UK 1991 UK 1997 UK 1993 UK 1994 UK 2000 UK 2001 UK 1969 UK 1962 1 Vegetarians Strict Vegetarians Vegans 0.1 fraction of households 0.01 0.001
Determinants of Vegetarianism: Literature • The factors affecting meat demand have been studied at a micro level -in Ireland Newman et al. (2001) -in the USA Nayga (1995) -in the UK Burton et al. (1994, 1999, 2004) -in Japan Chern et al. (2002) -in Mexico by Gould et al. (2002) • Meat demand is affected by income, household size, education level and professional status. • Motivations of vegetarians have been studied but small or unrepresentative samples used -Beardsworth and Bryman (1999): 350 first year undergraduates -Jabs, Devine and Sobal (1998): middle class vegetarian group, 19 respondents -Fox and Ward (2008): online message board: 33 respondents
3.5% All-vegetarianhouseholds Vegetarians 3.0% 2.5% 2.0% 1.5% 1.0% 0.5% 0.0% 1960 1965 1970 1975 1980 1985 1990 1995 2000 2005 2010 Vegetarianism in England
Data • Health Survey for England 2008 - 15,102 adults, 7,521 children - In 2008 the focus was on physical activity and fitness - also questions on eating and drinking habits, general health, bmi, income, education level, socio-economic status, ethnicity, marital status, region - consumption of red and white meat: 6+ times a week, 3-5, 1-2, <1, rarely or never • Vegetarian Definition : someone that does not eat meat, poultry, game, fish, shellfish or by-products of slaughter - We also analyse the frequency of fish consumption
Data • 2007 Survey of Lifestyles, Attitudes and Nutrition (SLÁN) in Ireland • 10,364 adults aged 18 and over - range of questions about general health, fruit and vegetable consumption, alcohol consumption, smoking, and physical activity - also contains information on income and other socio-economic variables • 9,223 adults completed a food frequency questionnaire • Consumption of medium sized portions of 21 meat items; less than once a month or never, one–three times per month, once a week, two-four times per week, 5-6 times per week, once a day, 2-3 times per day, 4-5 times per day or 6 or more times per day • 7 categories of fish included
Methods • Separate analyses for adults and children in England, just adults in Ireland • Vegetarianism: Logit model. Dependent variable =1 if respondent does not eat meat/fish, 0 otherwise 1.6% do not eat meat in Ireland, >4% in England 0.94% vegetarian in Ireland, 2.2% in England Pescetarianism: Dependent variable = 1 if respondent does not eat meat but does eat fish, 0 otherwise 0.66% pescetarian in Ireland, 2% in England • Analysis of meat and fish consumption frequency -ordered logit model -combined red meat, white meat and fish consumption scales >5% eat meat 2-4 times a week or less in Ireland, 23% in England
Frequency Results: Ireland Also important for meat frequency: Dublin – Cohabiting – Separated -
Conclusion • Vegetarianism increasing over time in England and Ireland • Strong relationship between meat consumption and health related variables (e.g. fruit and veg, BMI) but as of yet we cannot tell the direction of causation • Marital status, age and household size also important • Pescetarianism is a life style choice as indicated by workplace and employment choices • Household size, health variables, education level and alcohol consumption important in explaining the frequency of meat consumption • Income significant in Ireland but not in UK. U- shaped relationship exists for income levels up to €50,000