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Watch: As Kiwis limit meat intake, what goes into meat substitutes?

October 30, 2019

A new study suggests New Zealanders are becoming more and more interested in cutting down on meat consumption.

A new study suggests New Zealanders are becoming more and more interested in eating less meat.

One in three of us are consciously limiting our meat consumption.

The findings - commissioned by not-for-profit think tank Food Frontier and Australasian vegetarian food manufacturer Life Health Foods, with help from polling agency Colmar Brunton - were published yesterday.

Of the 1107 New Zealanders surveyed, 31 per cent identified as "flexitarian", defined as eating meat one to four times per week, or "meat-reducers", defined as eating less meat in the last year.

A further 3 per cent of New Zealanders are vegetarian or vegan.

It also showed that Kiwis have reduced their meat consumption over the past year, with an 18 per cent increase in those whose diets were categorised as flexitarian.

The group is led by Generation X, while meat-reducers were most likely to be baby boomers.

Kiwis seeking to eat less meat named health as the number one reason to do so, citing their overall health, reducing the chance for heart disease and stroke, and to limit the risk of developing cancer.

So, what are the alternatives to meat? What's in them? And where do they come from?

Seven Sharp reporter Mike Thorpe finds out in the video above.

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