Here’s a puzzle: a 2024 study found nearly 70% of Americans say they’ve reduced their red meat consumption in the past year, but only 11% qualify as flexitarian, per a December 2024 survey. So what’s going on? Are Americans eating less meat or not?
Most Americans are cutting back on meat, but they’re just not sure what to cook instead. The data reveal a hidden shift. Photo credit: Depositphotos.
The answer is both. The gap between those two numbers tells the real story. Millions of people have quietly cut back, choose chicken over beef, have a meatless Monday here and there or eat smaller portions. But they’re not adopting an identity or following a plan. They just do it, without thinking of it as a lifestyle change, which might explain why, despite all this reduction, dinner still feels so hard.
The invisible shift
A study published in the peer-reviewed journal Appetite surveyed a nationally representative sample of more than 1,200 U.S. adults. The findings paint a picture of widespread but unstructured change. Most Americans still eat red meat one to four times per week, but the majority report eating less than they used to.
The reasons are practical, not ideological. Health concerns motivated 64% of those cutting back. Price motivated 32%, unsurprising given that beef prices have hit record highs, climbing more than 14% in the past year. A September 2025 survey found 48% of Americans have reduced the amount of beef they buy in the past six months, with another 12% giving it up entirely.
Environmental sustainability, for all the headlines it generates? Just 6% cited it as a factor.
So the reduction is real. But it’s reactive, not proactive. It’s driven by doctors’ orders and grocery bills rather than meal plans and cookbooks.
The 5 p.m. problem
Cutting back on meat without a plan means standing in the kitchen at 5 p.m., ground beef feeling too expensive and having no idea what else to make. This is the gap between intention and execution. You can believe wholeheartedly in eating less meat and still reach for the chicken thighs because you know exactly what to do with them. Chicken has a playbook: stir-fry, sheet pan, tacos. Lentils require thinking.
The challenge isn’t finding vegetarian recipes; the internet has millions of them. It’s finding high-protein vegetarian dinners that solve the actual problem: satisfying, protein-rich enough that no one asks “where’s the protein”? and appealing to people who aren’t necessarily excited about going meatless.
What actually works
The most successful meat reducers aren’t reinventing their entire cooking repertoire. They’re making strategic swaps in dishes they already know. Think lentil bolognese instead of beef, black bean enchiladas on Tuesday nights and chickpeas in a peanut butter curry. These aren’t exotic health foods but familiar formats with a different protein source. The structure stays the same, only the star ingredient changes.
The Rutgers data support this: 85% of Americans rate health as the most important factor when choosing what to eat, followed closely by taste at 84%. People don’t want a new cuisine. They want their regular dinners, just with less meat, and without sacrificing flavor or satisfaction.
The protein question
One of the biggest sticking points is protein anxiety. The belief that meals without meat are somehow nutritionally incomplete runs deep but is not entirely unfounded. Protein matters, and meat is an efficient source of it. But the math isn’t as dire as many assume: a cup of cooked lentils delivers about 18 grams of protein, a block of firm tofu has around 20 grams and a can of chickpeas clocks in at roughly 15 grams.
Stack a few of these in a single meal: lentils in the sauce, a sprinkle of feta on top, some edamame in a noodle bowl, and you easily hit 25-30 grams without any meat in sight. The trick is building meals that layer protein sources rather than relying on a single centerpiece. It’s a different mental model than the meat-and-two-sides approach most Americans grew up with, but once you see it, it becomes second nature.
The generation gap
There’s one group approaching this more intentionally: younger Americans. Data show Gen Z and millennials are nearly three times more likely than baby boomers to eat plant-based alternatives at least once a month: 28% versus 10%.
This suggests the quiet, unstructured meat reduction happening among older generations may become more deliberate over time. The behavior is already there, but the infrastructure to support it is still catching up.
The way forward
The real story isn’t that Americans want to eat less meat; it’s that many already are, without quite realizing it. The reduction is happening at the margins: a meatless lunch here, a smaller portion there or beef swapped for chicken because chicken is cheaper.
What’s missing is a plan. Fewer lectures about why to eat less meat, and more concrete guidance on what to cook instead. Fewer aspirational grain bowls, and more weeknight-friendly meals that can be on the table in 40 minutes.
The intention is there. The behavior is even starting to follow. What people need now is a few good recipes and permission to call it dinner.
Shruthi Baskaran-Makanju is a food and travel writer and a global food systems expert based in Seattle. She has lived in or traveled extensively to over 60 countries and shares stories and recipes inspired by those travels on Urban Farmie.
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