Help keep One Green Planet free and independent! Together we can ensure our platform remains a hub for empowering ideas committed to fighting for a sustainable, healthy, and compassionate world. Please support us in keeping our mission strong.
France has experienced a notable decrease in per capita meat consumption, which has declined by nearly 6% over the past two decades. Despite this, the current dietary practices still exceed the national guidelines. In 2023, French citizens consumed an average of 83.5 kg of meat per person, a significant drop from 2003.
The decline is particularly evident in beef consumption, which fell by 19% from 26.3 kg per person in 2003 to 21.3 kg in 2023. Similarly, pork consumption has also reached its lowest levels in 20 years. Conversely, the intake of poultry, especially chicken, has seen a substantial rise, now accounting for 28% of total meat consumption compared to 14% in 2003.
To meet the increasing demand for poultry, France has turned to imports, with half of all chicken consumed being sourced from abroad. Despite this, overall meat imports decreased by 1.4% year-on-year, making up about 30% of the country’s meat consumption.
The French Nutrition Society (SFN) has advocated for reducing meat consumption by 25% to align with dietary recommendations and environmental goals. Such a reduction, paired with an increased intake of plant-based foods, could significantly lower France’s agricultural emissions, deforestation, and biodiversity loss.
Related Content:
Easy Ways to Help the Planet:
- Eat Less Meat: Download Food Monster, the largest plant-based Recipe app on the App Store, to help reduce your environmental footprint, save animals and get healthy. You can also buy a hard or soft copy of our favorite vegan cookbooks.
- Adopt-a-Pet: Visit WildWatchers, a watchdog platform specifically designed for animal, earth, and wildlife warriors to actively give back, rescue, and protect animals and the planet.
- Reduce Your Fast Fashion Footprint: Take initiative by standing up against fast fashion Pollution and supporting sustainable and circular brands like Tiny Rescue that raise awareness around important issues through recycled zero-waste clothing designed to be returned and remade over and over again.
- Support Independent Media: Being publicly funded gives us a greater chance to continue providing you with high-quality content. Please consider supporting us by donating!
- Sign a Petition: Your voice matters! Help turn petitions into victories by signing the latest list of must-sign petitions to help people, animals, and the planet.
- Stay Informed: Keep up with the latest news and important stories involving animals, the environment, sustainable living, food, health, and human interest topics by subscribing to our newsletter!
- Do What You Can: Reduce waste, plant trees, eat local, travel responsibly, reuse stuff, say no to single-use plastics, recycle, vote smart, switch to cold water laundry, divest from fossil fuels, save water, shop wisely, Donate if you can, grow your food, volunteer, conserve energy, compost, and don’t forget about the microplastics and microbeads lurking in common household and personal care products!
