Meat continues to play an important role in the French diet, but the goal of consuming less of it, if this means in particular guaranteeing better incomes for livestock farmers to produce sustainably by reducing imports, is gaining widespread support. According to the third edition of a survey on French meat consumption carried out every two years for the Climate Action Network (RAC) and presented on Tuesday, March 18, a majority (53%) of those polled say they have reduced their meat consumption over the last three years, a trend that remains stable from one study to the next.

Among the motivations cited in this Toluna Harris Interactive study, which was carried out from February 2 to 5 on a sample of 1,100 individuals, the desire to save money was cited by more than half of those questioned. But, compared with the previous study carried out in 2023 at the height of the inflation crisis, this figure has dropped by six points. Health appears to be the second reason (38%), ahead of environmental considerations (35%) and animal welfare (33%).

These trends are corroborated by the Ministry of Agriculture's consumption statistics, which point to a slight drop of 1.7% in meat consumption in 2023 (and -5.7% over 20 years) – to be qualified, however, because while the more expensive red meat is falling, poultry consumption continues to rise.

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