2 - Identifying conditions and opportunities for more plant-based eating practices in the Western world

Abstract

Global levels of meat production and consumption are currently unsustainable and are predicted to increase in the coming decades. According to the EAT-Lancet Commission, meat consumption should be reduced by more than half, and the consumption of plant-based foods should at least double by 2050. For plant-based proteins to become more established in everyday life, eating practices and the attached meanings, material infrastructures and skills need to change. This chapter combines two perspectives on plant-based eating, which have often been applied separately. The first is based on a practice-theoretical perspective, analysing plant-based eating as a social practice. The second looks at the sociodemographic factors related to plant-based eating. By utilising the two perspectives together, this chapter aims to enrich the current understanding of how plant-based eating practices may be advanced through practice-based policies.