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At a time when almost every diet has its own following, I wondered if there was also a term for people who, while not completely giving up meat and animal products, reduce their consumption. In fact, there is a name for it - flexitarians. Let's take a closer look at this.

Consumer researchers at Wageningen University see the origin of the term "flexitarianism" in pure vegetarianism. Some vegetarians found this too one-sided and began to eat some meat occasionally. In the USA, the term flexitarian has been in use for many years, but it is still relatively unknown in Austria.

As a flexitarian, one primarily eats vegetarian food but does not completely forbid meat consumption. Many claim that a flexitarian diet is automatically healthier than a diet with "normal" meat consumption. But I have a little problem with this statement.

Anyone familiar with my nutrition article knows that there is much more to a healthy diet than following an ideology. A balanced calorie intake, an adequate distribution of macronutrients and sufficient intake of micronutrients play a crucial role.

I therefore recommend reading the review paper by Jonathan D. Schoenfeld and John PA. Ioannidis from 2013, which shows that, depending on how it is interpreted, almost any food can be linked to cancer while appearing to prevent cancer.

The claim that meat, especially red meat, is cancer-promoting and that avoiding meat is automatically healthy is simply false. It is possible to completely avoid meat and animal products and still have an unhealthy diet overall. No food in itself is bad or good, it all depends on the overall diet.

The only thing that is true about this is that many people who consciously choose a predominantly vegetarian lifestyle are also more likely to follow a micronutrient-rich and balanced diet.

What are Good Reasons for Not Eating Meat

Animal Welfare
Apart from the fact that animals live only to be slaughtered, the conditions under which animals are kept are often barbaric. Unfortunately, animal welfare is still given far too little attention. Even in a country like Austria, there are always scandals in animal husbandry.

Climate Change
It is a fact that greenhouse gas emissions caused by food would decrease by about one third if consumers reduced their meat consumption.

Vegetarianism or Complete Renunciation of Animal Products?

A vegetarian diet is not necessarily considered more ethical than eating meat directly. Examples include the tremendous stress and exploitation of laying hens and broiler chickens that are ultimately slaughtered. Similarly, dairy cows are often milked several times a day, often resulting in udder disease. At the end of their production cycle, these animals are also slaughtered. Often these animals have little space and little exercise or grazing.

From an ethical standpoint, vegetarianism is not the ultimate goal, but it can be a first step in the right direction. By completely abstaining from meat and animal products, one supports a lifestyle that causes less animal suffering and thus makes a positive contribution to animal welfare. Seen in this way, the vegan path is the most ethically justifiable.

Closing Words

Whether you're a part-time vegetarian or a weekend vegan, and for whatever reason you want to avoid or reduce meat and/or animal products: No one has to be perfect. If a purely vegan or vegetarian diet seems too complicated or stressful for you, being a flexitarian is probably a better choice.