Meaningfully reducing consumption of meat and animal products is an unsolved problem: A meta-analysis.

Which interventions produce the largest and most enduring reductions in consumption of meat and animal products (MAP)? We address this question with a theoretical review and meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials that measured MAP consumption at least one day after intervention. We meta-analyze 35 papers comprising 41 studies, 112 interventions, and approximately 87,000 subjects. We find that these papers employ four major strategies to change behavior: choice architecture, persuasion, psychology, and a combination of persuasion and psychology. The pooled effect of all 112 interventions on MAP consumption is quite small (standardized mean difference [SMD] = 0.07 (95% CI: [0.02, 0.12]), indicating an unsolved problem. Interventions aiming to reduce only consumption of red and processed meat were more effective (SMD = 0.25; 95% CI: [0.11, 0.38]), but it remains unclear whether such interventions also decrease consumption of other forms of MAP. We conclude that while existing approaches do not provide a proven remedy to MAP consumption, designs and measurement strategies have generally been improving over time, and many promising interventions await rigorous evaluation.

The production and consumption of meat and animal products have been associated with an array of ethical, health, and environmental issues. While social scientists have increasingly focused on meat reduction and the promotion of meat alternatives in recent years, and have identified a number of regional, seasonal, and sociodemographic variations in consumption, empirical work is often based on self-reported data. To build a greater understanding of actual dietary habits, we seek to provide analysis based on real food purchase data by aggregating data from different sources. To this end, we explore the consumption of meat and animal products in the Tesco 1.0 dataset, an Open Access dataset representing 420 million food item purchases made by 1.6 million loyalty card users at 411 Tesco stores across Greater London in 2015. The data is aggregated most granularly at the level of monthly purchase of 11 broad food categories in 4833 lower super output areas (LSOA—the smallest geographic area). We represented the consumption of meat and animal products graphically for each month of the year and for each of 33 London boroughs. In general, we found that the spring and summer months had the highest consumption of meat and animal products, including poultry, and this decreased in autumn. We also combined the Tesco 1.0 dataset with datasets from the London Datastore (a free and open data-sharing portal that provides over a thousand datasets to understand the city and develop solutions to its problems), and identified several demographic factors as predictors for the meat consumption. Contrary to our hypothesis, areas with older, lower education, and more conservative populations had a lower proportion of meat consumed. In line with our hypotheses, a lower proportion of meat consumed could be observed in areas with higher population density, better health, and more Hindus. The purpose of this paper is to add to knowledge on regional, seasonal, and sociodemographic variations in animal product consumption, as well as provide a valuable overview of animal product consumption using a novel data source that comprises actual purchase data rather than self-reported consumption.

Introduction. There was conducted the study of the actual nutrition in the population of the Russian Federation in 2017–2021, including a study of its trend and compliance with recommended rational standards.
 Materials and methods. The study used information from the Federal State Statistics Service (Rosstat) on consumption in population of the Russian Federation of the main food groups in households in 2017–2021. The annual representative sample was forty seven thousand eight hundred households. A method used to analyze time series of consumption of basic food products and a comparison of actual nutrition with recommended rational standards was carried out for the whole country, Federal districts, and constituent entities of the Federation.
 Results. In the Russian Federation in 2021, compared to 2017, consumption of most major food groups decreased. Consumption of meat and meat products increased by 6.8%, eggs by 1.3%. Consumption of fish and fish products remained at the same level. The analysis shows a decline in the consumption of bread and bakery products in all federal districts, with the exception of the Far East (an increase of 1.6%); potatoes, vegetable oil, with the exception of the Far East (an increase of 0.8%). At the same time, there is an increase in the consumption of meat and meat products in all federal districts, with the exception of the Far Eastern (decrease by 13.6%). For other product groups, consumption variations were noted.
 Below the recommended rational norms, the Russian population consumes fish and fish products, potatoes, bread, and bakery products, milk and dairy products, vegetables, fruits and berries, eggs, and vegetable oil. At the same time, excessive consumption of sugar (3.8 times higher than the norm), meat and meat products (27% higher than the norm) were noted.
 In the Federal Districts, consumption of most major food groups is below the recommended rational standards. In all federal districts, consumption of meat and meat products, sugar and confectionery products has increased.
 Significant differences have been established in the compliance of consumption levels with recommended rational standards by the population of the constituent entities of the Russian Federation in 2021. In most regions of the Russian Federation, high consumption of meat and meat products by the population is noted. 
 All regions of the Federation have high consumption of sugar and confectionery products.
 Limitations. This study is limited by the size of the representative sample, which was 47.8 thousand households.
 Conclusion. The consequence of an irrational nutrition structure is a violation of the nutritional status, which is expressed in an increase in the prevalence among the population in recent years of such alimentary-dependent pathologies as obesity, hypertension, diabetes mellitus, and a number of others.

Animal agriculture is implicated as a major cause of greenhouse gas emissions, animal suffering and public health problems. This survey asked 1000 UK meat-eaters about their beliefs about vegetarian and vegan diets, and their intended consumption of meat and animal products one month in the future. One in six intended to reduce their meat consumption in the next month, and 14% intended to reduce their consumption of animal products. The majority agreed that vegetarian and vegan diets are ethical, good for the environment and healthy. The majority also agreed that both vegetarianism and veganism were socially acceptable. However, there were three consistent negative beliefs about vegetarian and vegan diets: that they are difficult, that they are not enjoyable and that they are expensive. Moreover, perceptions of vegan diets were significantly more negative than perceptions of vegetarian diets on most aspects. Significant differences in perceptions of each diet were observed between genders and by age. It is argued that most meat-eaters agree with the ethical and environmental arguments in favour of vegetarianism/veganism but do not follow these diets because of practical reasons relating to taste, price and convenience. New alternatives to animal products are discussed as a possible way to address these practical barriers. Finally, the case is made for more research on developing high-quality, low-cost and widely available animal product alternatives.

Several societal issues could be mitigated by reducing global consumption of meat and animal products (MAP). In three randomized, controlled experiments ( to 574), we evaluated the effects of a documentary that presents health, environmental, and animal welfare motivations for reducing MAP consumption. Study 1 assessed the documentary’s effectiveness at reducing reported MAP consumption after 12 days. This study used methodological innovations to minimize social desirability bias, a widespread limitation of past research. Study 2 investigated discrepancies between the results of Study 1 and those of previous studies by further examining the role of social desirability bias. Study 3 assessed the documentary’s effectiveness in a new population anticipated to be more responsive and upon enhancing the intervention content. We found that the documentary did not decrease reported MAP consumption when potential social desirability bias was minimized (Studies 1 and 3). The documentary also did not affect consumption among participants whose demographics suggested they might be more receptive (Study 3). However, the documentary did substantially increase intentions to reduce consumption, consistent with past studies (Studies 2 and 3). Overall, we conclude that some past studies of similar interventions may have overestimated effects due to methodological biases. Novel intervention strategies to reduce MAP consumption may be needed.

Актуальность исследования обусловлена необходимостью решения важной социально экономической задачи по сближению регионов России по уровню потребления, в частности основных продуктов питания. В статье рассматривается проблема неравенства регионов России по потреблению мяса и мясопродуктов. Методической основой исследования является концепция конвергенции и конвергенции. Основной целью исследования является тестирование наличия конвергенции применительно к потреблению мяса и мясопродуктов между регионами РФ. Выявлено наличие как абсолютной конвергенции, так и конвергенции между регионами РФ по уровню потребления мяса и мясопродуктов на душу населения в период с 2005 по 2018 гг. Однако, данный процесс характеризуется низкой скоростью конвергенции и незначительным снижением коэффициента вариации потребления мяса и мясопродуктов. Для сближения регионов РФ по уровню потребления мяса и мясопродуктов на душу населения в 2 раза потребуется 19 лет. Материалы статьи могут представлять научнопрактический интерес для расширения и углубления понимания проблемы неравенства и конвергенции регионов страны The relevance of the study is due to the need to solve an important socioeconomic problem of bringing Russian regions closer in terms of consumption, in particular basic food products. The article considers the problem of the inequality of the regions of Russia in the consumption of meat and meat products. The methodological basis of the study is the concept of convergence and convergence. The main objective of the study is to test for convergence in relation to the consumption of meat and meat products between the regions of the Russian Federation. The presence of both absolute convergence and convergence between the regions of the Russian Federation in consumption of meat and meat products on per capita in the period from 2005 to 2018 was revealed. However, this process is characterized by a low rate of convergence and a slight decrease in the coefficient of variation in the consumption of meat and meat products. It will take 19 years to bring the regions of the Russian Federation closer in terms of per capita consumption of meat and meat products 2 times. Article materials may be of scientific and practical interest to expand and deepen understanding of the problem of inequality and convergence of regions of the country

The world’s large and growing appetite for meat and other animal products has profound implications for One Health, given its impacts on human health, the environment and animal health and welfare. Accordingly, there is robust evidence that a reduction of animal product consumption is urgently needed in regions where these consumption levels are currently high. A shift away from industrial animal production should be prioritized, given the high levels of animal product consumption this kind of system enables, its relatively high environmental toll, linkages to increasing risks of antimicrobial resistance and zoonoses emergence and harm to animal welfare. Until recently, however, few governments addressed the issue. On the contrary, many governments actively support industrial animal agriculture through subsidies and other measures. Now, motivated by both environmental and public health concerns, policy makers in several countries are adopting regulatory and financial measures to address the overconsumption of animal products. Although these changes are clearly necessary and long overdue, it is crucial that they are planned carefully and inclusively to ensure a just transition. In lower-resourced and food-insecure settings, meat and other animal products can be a vital source of nutrients – particularly during infancy and childhood. In addition, meat supply chains support many livelihoods, and meat is an important part of many people’s social and cultural traditions. This means that policies that curtail common production practices, reduce meat output and raise meat prices could have significant impacts across society. A just transition approach can help ensure that the costs and benefits of the transition are more equitably distributed and protect the most vulnerable stakeholders. By doing so, it can also help increase public support for the transition. The concept of just transitions is well established in the energy sector but is only starting to be recognized in the context of the food system. Governments in the Global North should take the lead in this area, given these countries have very high levels of animal product consumption and more resources available to support a transition. In this Policy Forum, we lay out the case for a just transition in animal agriculture and identify five principles to guide policy makers in promoting a just transition away from systems of industrial meat production and overconsumption. One Health impact statement Drawing on expertise from health, climate, biodiversity and animal welfare policy and science across several regions, this Policy Forum demonstrates how current levels of animal product production and consumption threaten One Health. Although a transition to a healthier, more sustainable and more compassionate food system is clearly needed, such a transition will necessarily involve both costs and benefits for affected stakeholders. Identifying lessons from international and national climate policy, and energy policy in particular, the authors highlight the value of an approach that is holistic and centred on just transition principles to support a transition away from large-scale animal product production and consumption that is in line with the One Health approach, with an emphasis on transitioning away from the consumption and production of industrially-produced meat. This Policy Forum is relevant to policy makers, companies and civil society seeking to promote a shift towards food systems that emphasize public and planetary health.

Diet has gained attention as a risk factor for the development of rheumatoid arthritis (RA), especially with regards to food of animal origin, such as meat and dairy products. By using data from national patient registers and dietary data from a large prospective population cohort, the Swedish Mammography Cohort, we aimed to investigate whether the consumption of meat and dairy products had any impact on the risk of subsequent development of RA. During 12 years of follow-up (January 2003–December 2014; 381, 456 person-years), 368 patients with a new diagnosis of RA were identified. No associations between the development of RA and the consumption of meat and meat products (hazard ratio [HR] for the fully adjusted model: 1.08 [95% CI: 0.77–1.53]) or the total consumption of milk and dairy products (HR for the fully adjusted model: 1.09 [95% CI: 0.76–1.55]) were observed. In conclusion, in this large prospective cohort of women, no associations were observed between dietary intake of meat and dairy products and the risk of RA development.

The article deals with the economic aspects of production, as well as consumption of meat and meat products in Ukraine. The purpose of the study is to analyze the state of production, as well as the consumption of meat and meat products in Ukraine, to identify the factors influencing the production, marketing and consumption of these products. The optimal amounts of meat and meat products production are determined, which will enable to meet the needs of the population according to the rules of rational nutrition. The article attracts attention to the problems of the meat products complex of Ukraine, which results in insufficient consumption of the necessary products by the majority of the population of the country, which leads to inconsistencies between production, solvency and the needs of the population. The potential opportunities in the field of improving the quality of food raw materials for obtaining additional food reserves are determined. The development of the meat products complex in Ukraine requires intensification of branches of animal husbandry, the development of the forage base, optimization of the relations between farms with the processing industry of the agroindustrial complex, the improvement of the price mechanism for the formation of the meat resources market and the improvement of the quality and range of meat products.

Meat industry is a fundamental component of the agro-industrial complex, playing the dominant role of the country’s economic stability. Optimal planning of production of meat and meat products taking into account scientifically based models makes it possible to ensure the food security of the state. Therefore, it is important to analyze the dynamics of the meat industry development and outline its prospects in the future not only in the Russian Federation as a whole, but also in the regions. The article examines the assessment of the regional meat market and related products in the case of the Udmurt Republic. Structural changes in the production and consumption of meat products have been analyzed. The article identifies the factors that influence the regional cluster of meat and related products. Based on the established factors, the article presents a mathematical model for the development of consumption of meat and related products. The article uses economic and mathematical methods of research. Correlation analysis was used to determine the factors influencing the volume of production. The study period is 15 years from 2002 to 2016. A total of 23 indicators used to characterize the market for meat and meat products. For reliability of the model, the comparative characteristics of the indicators for the period under study were made for 14 entities entering the Volga Federal District.

Aim: to compare the frequency and quantity of meat and fish products consumption in patients with asymptomatic hyperuricemia (AHU) and gout. Patients and Methods: the single-center study included 112 patients aged more than 18 y.o. with AHU or gout who had uric acid (UA) level >360 μmol/l, examined in the period from January 2022 to January 2023. The diagnosis of gout was made in accordance with the gout classification criteria of the American College of Rheumatology (ACR) / European Alliance of Associations for Rheumatology (EULAR) 2015. Patients who did not meet the criteria of ACR/EULAR 2015 were diagnosed with AHU. The clinical study included medical history, examination, anthropometric data, standard physical examination. The laboratory study included the determination of fasting serum uric acid, creatinine, C-reactive protein. All patients in the study filled out the Food Frequency Questionnaire. Results: 57 (49.1%) patients with AHU, of which 31 (54.4%) were male, and 55 (50.9%) patients with gout, of which 51 (92.7%) were male, were examined during the study. In the group with gout, versus the group with AHU, statistically significantly higher levels of serum UA (504.7 and 431 μmol/l, respectively, p=0.0003) and creatinine (103.8±30 and 78.0±19.3 μmol/l, p=0.005) were detected. The consumption of meat products (beef, lamb, chicken, pork) in patients with gout and AHU in most cases did not differ. About a quarter of patients in both groups did not eat fish at all. Conclusion: data on the comparable frequency concerning consumption of meat and fish products by patients with gout and AHU have been obtained, which can serve as the theory confirmation that dietary characteristics do not play a major role in the genesis of gout, although they are associated with the UA level. KEYWORDS: gout, asymptomatic hyperuricemia, obesity, meat products, fish products, uric acid. FOR CITATION: Eliseev M.S., Zhelyabina O.V., Cheremushkina E.V. Frequency and quantity comparison of meat and fish products consumption in patients with gout and asymptomatic hyperuricemia (preliminary data of the pilot study). Russian Medical Inquiry. 2023;7(7):445–451 (in Russ.). DOI: 10.32364/2587-6821-2023-7-7-7.

Harvest Moon: Some personal thoughts on past and future directions in animal breeding research.

Vegetarianism continues to increase globally due, in part, to perceived health benefits. Results from observational studies indicate that vegetarian dietary patterns are associated with favorable cardiometabolic risk factor profiles and lower risks of chronic diseases including obesity, diabetes mellitus type 2, cardiovascular disease, and cancer. Aside from avoidance of meat and the compensatory dietary alterations, vegetarians tend to practice lifestyle habits conducive to better health. Well-controlled intervention trials show minimal or no effects of lean meat intake on traditional markers for chronic disease risk, although biologically plausible mechanisms exist through which consumption of meat and other animal products could influence risks of cardiovascular disease and some cancers. Thus, at present, the degree to which favorable health outcomes associated with vegetarian diet patterns are attributable to avoidance of animal products per se is unclear. This issue has major public health implications because more than 95% of the US population are regular consumers of meat and other animal products. This review aims to summarize the evidence regarding vegetarian diet patterns and major chronic diseases, explore possible explanations for these relationships, and identify research gaps and opportunities to better define the health effects of vegetarian dietary patterns.

The justification for this review article is to understand the position of vegans and those individuals who consume food of animal origin from an unbiased perspective but with a grounding in scientific evidence. This will provide people who eat meat with scientific and ethical arguments to defend their alimentary autonomy in the context of the moral conflict that has emerged in societies regarding the consumption of meat and animal products, which is criticized –sometimes even attacked– by activists, ovolactovegetarians, or vegetarians with alimentary habits that stress ethical and moral respect for animals. These individuals refuse to eat meat and animal products but sometimes show disrespect for those who do. In recent decades, veganism and vegetarianism have reached an apogee in some western societies where they are often considered a healthy option for humans that simultaneously fosters animal and environmental welfare. While those diets may provide numerous benefits, they can also entail health risks by failing to provide balance and necessary dietary supplements. Various researchers concur that they are not appropriate for pregnant women, children, or carnivorous or omnivorous pets. Our review of scientific articles in favor and against dietary regimens that lack protein of animal origin leads to the conclusion that these dietary changes, on their own, do not reduce animal suffering or the contamination generated by the meat, dairy, and poultry industries. Finally, it is important to consider that, despite the popular opinion that vegetarianism and veganism are healthy diet alternatives, the diet must be individualized and well-balanced according to each stage of their life cycle.

Nowadays, meat and meat products are considered as a part of the daily diet of most people. Therefore, it is necessary to deal with meat and meat products and their consumption according to individual types of meat. Based on the above, the paper is focused on the issue of consumption of individual types of meat in the Slovak Republic and the identification of key factors affecting the consumption of meat and meat products from Slovak consumers' point of view. Secondary and primary data is used to fulfil the aim of the paper. Secondary data is obtained from the Statistical Office of the Slovak Republic, on the basis of which the development of consumption of individual types of meat is predicted by 2020. It can be stated that poultry and pork meat and meat products consumption is constantly increasing and there is a slight change in beef and fish meat and meat products consumption, which is currently at a very low level. In the context of the above, a questionnaire survey is realised and based on its results it could be concluded that the price is a main reason for the inadequate consumption of different types of meat. However, consumers consume meat and meat products mainly because of taste, which can be considered as an aspect of irrationality in the diet of Slovak consumers. Furthermore, a number of factors affecting the purchase and consumption of meat and meat products have been identified. The results show rational and irrational aspects in the decision making of Slovak consumers. The most important factor is the quality of meat and meat products, which consumers perceive differently, mainly on the basis of their own personality and other aspects of meat quality (price, origin, freshness, and sensory characteristics of meat). Other important factors are the perception of composition, freshness, price and country of origin.