According to Metro newspaper, the rising cost of meat is forcing people to eat less of it. As well as those who have adopted a meat-reducing diet and joined campaigns like Meat Free Monday, the paper reports that 1 in 11 people has gone completely vegetarian to save money.
Meat prices rose by an average of 5.7 per cent last year, more than any other type of food.
And it seems the credit crunch is having improvements on our health across the board: every month Britons are now drinking 143 million fewer pints of beer, smoking 51 million fewer cigarettes and eating 75 million fewer takeaways.
“People are financially stretched and going all they can to save money,” said Richard Doe, chief executive of ING Direct.
The hope is now that a decision made on cost grounds will be continued if and when global markets bounce back, as people realise how delicious meat-free eating is, and how much healthier they feel as a result.