"The Feminization of Protein Consumption": Study Reveals Canadians Turning away from Meat

A new survey reveals that Canadian men, more than women, consider meat to be one of the greatest pleasures of life, and older men, in particular, think nothing compares to good steak.

For beef farmers, that's where the good news ends.

According to a new survey of "protein wars in Canada", 6.4 million Canadians have already restricted or eliminated meat from their diet, while one-third of the population intends to do so during next six months.

But the survey paints a contradictory picture of our attachment to meat and our willingness to embrace chickpeas over sirloin, with three-quarters strongly or somewhat in agreement that it is natural to eat meat as a human natural and balanced diet. "

"It seems that Canadians are still somewhat attached to meat consumption in general," said Sylvain Charlebois, Senior Researcher, Professor of Food Distribution and Policy at Dalhousie University. "But more and more Canadians are reconsidering their relationship with animal protein," he said.

The findings come as Health Canada prepares to launch the latest version of its food guide in November, a guide meant to be more vegan than omnivorous. In its "Guiding Principles" for rewriting food rules published earlier this year, Health Canada urged moving to a "high proportion" of plant-based foods, without excluding foods from foods. Animal origin.

Preliminary recommendations also encouraged the replacement of foods containing mainly saturated fats with foods containing unsaturated fats (such as nuts, seeds and avocados). Dairy products and red meat are the main sources of saturated fats.

The Canadian meat and meat industries have opposed any serious dumping of meat, milk or other drastic changes, and it is unclear whether Health Canada will yield under the pressure of this heavy weight. The meat industry says the government badured him that the food guide will not be lean.

But other countries are moving in the same direction, helped in part by a statement from the World Cancer Agency of the World Health Organization in 2015 that bacon, sausages and other meats processed are a carcinogen for humans and red meat "probably" also this has raised new criticisms of how the WHO communicates risks – and uncertain science – to the public.

"People have said, 'How can you possibly put processed meat in the same asbestos category,'" said Charlebois. "But since then, many governments around the world have been adjusting their food guide and meat consumption policy, and we expect the (Canadian) food guide to be much more friendly to plants."

More and more Canadians are reconsidering their relationship with animal protein

For the study, the researchers interviewed 1,027 adults for three days in September. Charlebois led the study with Simon Somogyi from the University of Guelph and Janet Music from the Dalhousie School of Management. With a sample of this size, the margin of error is 3%, 19 times out of 20.

Nearly half (49%) of respondents reported daily consumption of meat or products containing meat; 40% reported eating meat once or twice a week. Two percent considered themselves vegetarians, one percent vegans (no products of animal origin, including honey) and one percent lacto-ovo vegetarian (no animal flesh, but eggs and dairy products were allowed).

Fifty-one percent said they would be willing to consider reducing their meat intake in the future.

Both bades identified health benefits as a reason for doing so, even though women and youth were more concerned about animal welfare.

"The younger generations are not so much concerned with health but with the humanitarian approach of how we feed ourselves," said David Jenkins, a renowned nutrition scientist from the University of Toronto. "You do not fear a cow in the green field with the blue sky above, the tree and the sun – what every child in kindergarten draws," he said.

"But when you come to a mechanized abattoir, it's not so much fun. There is no blue sky, no happiness, prancing (cattle). And I think that's a big change for young people. "

Women were more likely than men to think that meat is replaceable by other sources of protein, and poorly educated men were more likely to say, "I am a big fan of meat in general.

"Eating meat is a virile thing, let's face it. It has always been described as a manly thing to do, "said Charlebois.

Overall, the survey found that "if you earn more, if you are a woman, if you are more educated, you are less likely to be attached to meat," said Charlebois, who thinks we let's live the "feminization of proteins". consumption."

He currently leads ten food start-ups from Montreal to Calgary. Women are running nine. "Last week, in MBA clbad, I met Michael Medline, CEO of Sobeys, and seven of his top executives. Three of them were women. The influence of women in the industry is becoming more obvious, "said Charlebois.

Canadians have reduced their meat consumption since 2004. Today, it is similar to that of the Mediterranean countries, "places where diets are widely recognized to be among the healthiest in the world," he said. said Marie-France Mackinnon of the Canadian Meat Council.

Canadians consume on average 41 grams of fresh cooked meat, such as beef, pork, lamb or veal, a day, she said, "that's about half of the palm of the hand".

"There has been a lot of speculation" about the new food guide, Mackinnon said. "In May, we met with the Minister of Health (Ginette Petitpas Taylor) who badured us that they would not tell (Canadians) to consume less red meat in the next edition."

Jenkins, who is currently conducting a pan-Canadian randomized trial to test whether a lacto-vegetarian diet can stop or even reverse plaque formation on the coronary arteries, said science is supporting the shift to more plant-based diets.

"No one said," eat more beef and get stronger, "as they said in the 1930s," he said. "Nobody says that anymore."

Among the other results of the survey:

• 63% of vegans are under 38 years of age (Millennials and Gen Ys);

• 42% of "flexitarians" (flexible vegetarianism, with a few portions of meat) are baby boomers;

• The youngest and most educated are less likely to like meat;

• Few people view insects as an attractive alternative to meat, although Atlantic Canadians and Quebecers seem more inclined to eat insects.

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