Meat Consumption and Sustainability in Turkey

Abstract

This study was carried out to determine the amount of meat consumption by adult individuals and its affecting factors in Turkey and to evaluate them within the framework of sustainable nutrition and climate change. The study was completed with 613 adult individuals between 1-31 March 2021. It was determined that the average red meat consumption was per capita 49.34±53.73 g/day Those with an income of more than 15000 Turkish lira consumed 45.95 g more red meat than those with an income of less than 3000 Turkish lira. “Taste” was the most commonly cited reason for consuming red meat. While 60.8% of the participants reported that they would reduce their red meat consumption for environmental health, 76.7% of them stated that they would not consume artificially produced red meat. In this study, it was determined that women consumed less meat group foods than men and participants with lower incomes consumed less than those with higher incomes. The amount of red meat consumption was found to be about half of the global average. More studies are required to evaluate the effect of nutrition style on climate change in Turkey.