Less is Better – Reducing meat consumption in Cambridge colleges

Excessive meat consumption exerts a devastating toll on human and planetary health and plays a key role in a global existential poly-crisis. However, it also offers a unique opportunity to achieve multiple simultaneous benefits, through a reduction in consumption. This potential is reflected in multiple national and international policy recommendations, but the UK lags severely behind targets​. Urgent improvement is needed at scale and at speed.

My research aims to contribute to knowledge around reduction in meat consumption by addressing the research question: what are the main barriers and levers to reducing meat consumption in Cambridge colleges?

I have addressed the research question by collecting data in a large survey of college users (n:849) and three follow-up focus groups (n:26). My poster will reveal some of the interim findings from the survey and focus groups, and what these can tell us about the challenges and opportunities involved in reducing meat consumption here in Cambridge – and possibly beyond.