Data from YouGov Profiles reveals that those who prefer “natural” foodstuffs are less likely to eat meat, more likely to identify as “flexitarian”, and twice as likely to be vegetarians
YouGov Profiles data shows that three in ten (29%) Brits say they “prefer to serve organic and natural foods” to their families. But how does this attitude correspond with other culinary preferences and behaviours?
While seven out of ten members of Brits (70%) identify themselves as meat and poultry eaters, only a little over half (53%) of those who favour organic food do. And while 4% of the general public identify themselves as vegetarian, more than twice as many (9%) organic food fans say they’ve sworn off animal flesh.
It’s the same story with vegans, albeit in lower proportions (2% of the public; 4% of organic food eaters). Brits who prefer organic food are also six percentage points more likely to be flexitarian (15% general public; 21% organic food eaters).
But does eating organic food have any correlation with other attitudes?
Four in ten (42%) Brits who prefer organic and natural food say they’re the sole grocery shoppers in their households. These Brits are also more likely to say they consider themselves healthy eaters (73% vs. 57% of the general public); that they like to look out for where their products are made or grown (72% vs. 50% of the public), and that if they have a choice they prefer to buy products made in their home country (72% vs. 58% of the public). They’re also a full 25 percentage points more likely to say that they make an effort to buy fair trade products (63% vs. 38% of the public), and most demonstrate a strong aversion to genetically modified food: 56% say they don’t buy food that is genetically modified, versus 38% of the general public.
What’s more, over four in ten (44%) say they only buy products from companies whose ethics and values align with their own – versus just a quarter (24%) of Brits overall.
