Swedes eat less meat for second year in a row

Sweden's consumption of meat has decreased for the second consecutive year, Swedish Television (SVT) reported on Tuesday.

Statistics from the Swedish Board of Agriculture show that on average, Sweden's meat consumption decreased by 2.2 kg per person in 2018. Total consumption has dropped by around 5 percent compared to 2016.

According to the board, the change is due partly to prevailing food trends, but also to Swedes' increasing awareness of sustainability issues.

"Everyone knows today that meat production contributes more to greenhouse gases than vegetable production," Asa Lannhard-Oberg, an agricultural policy analyst at the Swedish Board of Agriculture, told SVT.

The statistics also show that Swedes are eating a lower proportion of imported meat and a higher proportion of Swedish-produced meat.

Lannhard-Oberg said that this change, too, can be linked to Swedes' increasing awareness of sustainability issues.

"It really started in 2013 when we talked a lot about the use of antibiotics in animals. Then we quickly saw that imports fell. But it also has to do with the fact that more and more people understand that the climate footprint of meat production in Sweden is lower than the global average."

Compared to the international average, however, per capita meat consumption in Sweden is still high.

From a long-term perspective, Swedish meat consumption has increased over the past 30 years, with the highest record so far reached in 2016. Over the past two years, that trend has changed.

Lannhard-Oberg told SVT that she expects the declining trend will continue and that we will see further reductions in the coming years.