.png)
5 hours ago
3
Eating too much of it risks chronic disease, growing it contributes about an eighth of human-made climate pollution, and there is evidence linking it to certain cancers.
But there’s no denying meat – especially red and processed meat – remains a firm fixture on dinner plates. This is especially the case for blokes, posing a masculine challenge to the climate crisis.
“In terms of pure consumption, there are very large discrepancies – and consistent discrepancies – between men and women in how much meat they consume,” says Lauren Camilleri, a social psychology researcher at Victoria University who investigates the connection between meat eating and masculinity.
The stereotype that men and meat are an inseparable pair plays out in research. A French study last year found motoring and eating habits led to a 26% emissions disparity between men and women.
Other research finds that, when adjusted for differences in energy needs, men still consume more meat than women. They are also likely to be more resistant to reducing meat consumption, and to adopting plant-based diets. The exception is when deteriorating health or a veggie-sympathetic romantic partner prompts a change.
Overall, there’s a persistent theme: many men see meat eating as an expression of manhood, and view attempts to force change to their diets as a personal – even emasculating – threat.
This likely stems, Camilleri says, from longstanding cultural and symbolic associations – the myths that meat is masculine and plants feminine; that men are hunters, women gatherers; that real men eat meat.
But as the planet heats up, the need has never been greater for men, and the men in our lives, to shake up meal time.
More meat than ever
Australia’s dietary guidelines recommend whole grains and vegetables to meet more than half a person’s daily energy needs.
They suggest a maximum of three servings from a food group containing lean meat, poultry, fish, eggs, nuts and legumes – an egg for breakfast, a tin of tuna for lunch, and a 65g cooked, lean steak for dinner, for example.
Many Australians – especially men – exceed the meat quota. September data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics showed two-thirds of Australian blokes eat meat. Of those, more than half consume at least 198g of meat products every day – exceeding daily recommendations. Overall, the typical Aussie meat eater consumes 13g of meat more than a decade ago.
Excessive meat consumption has associated health risks. “Animal products tend to be very high in saturated fatty acids,” says Dr Luigi Fontana, director of the Charles Perkins Centre Royal Prince Alfred Clinic in Sydney. He highlights multiple clinical trials showing links between saturated fatty acids and heightened LDL cholesterol, a major factor for cardiovascular diseases. Processed meat is also considered carcinogenic, and red meat is a probable carcinogen.
Fontana also points to research showing animal products contain certain amino acids that enhance some ageing pathways, and metabolites that increase stroke risk.
“I’m shocked that despite this evidence … animal consumption has increased,” Fontana says.
Then there are environmental considerations; the agriculture sector accounts for almost a fifth of Australia’s total carbon pollution. Of agricultural emissions, most come from livestock methane.
Many advocates for climate-friendly lifestyles tout vegetarianism or veganism as solutions. These are the diets that most substantially slash carbon footprints – but with many men drawing a sense of self from the cut on their plate, a more practical solution may be to adopt a flexible approach.
Meat me halfway?
Last year, the EAT-Lancet Commission – a global panel of nutrition, climate, health and agriculture experts – revised its Planetary Health Diet, a guide to high-health, low-environmental-impact nutrition. If universally followed, the diet could prevent 15m premature deaths and reduce cancer, chronic disease and neurodegenerative diagnoses.
Meat is not excluded from this pro-health, pro-climate diet; instead, it becomes the guest star.
Seafood and poultry each get two servings per week. Beef, pork and lamb cameo with a single weekly portion. For those wanting to eat a more climate-friendly and health-positive diet, improvement is not an all-or-nothing equation.
“I don’t think you need to become a strict vegetarian,” says Fontana, who advocates for whole grains, fruits and vegetables, legumes, and small amounts of eggs and fish daily.
The EAT-Lancet guidelines say red meat should be “as a treat reserved for weekly moments or special occasions”, such as with friends and family.
Dr Diana Bogueva, a social scientist who explores sustainable food consumption and consumer behaviour at Curtin University, says encouraging small steps is key.
“We don’t need to be perfect,” Bogueva says. “If you do even small changes, this needs to be embraced.”
Bogueva, Fontana and Camilleri also point to the importance of demystifying outdated ideas about plant-based eating – but shifting mindsets is a challenge.
Meat-based protein is not essential to physical performance – just look to the plant-based diets of sporting champions such as Novak Djokovic, Lewis Hamilton and Kelly Slater. “Hegans”, as such high-performing athletes are sometimes called, are helping to normalise low- to no-meat diets.
Plants and grains are also cheap to grow, and inexpensive to fill a grocery basket compared with a cut of beef.
Ultimately, even a simple switch from red to white meat, or white meat to fish, or fish to a vegetarian dish, could have tangible benefits to personal and climate health.
“Small actions add up,” Bogueva says. “If climate-friendly diets are positioned as practical, satisfying and aligned with everyday priorities people have, then adoptions of different choices become much more natural, and much more sustainable.”
