Dutch people ate less meat again
According to new WUR figures, consumption fell in 2025, mainly because people ate less pork.
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Dutch people are reported to have eaten less meat again in 2025 than a year earlier. The available reports indicate a fall to 67.3 kilos per person based on carcass weight, but the underlying new WUR report was not directly publicly available during this search.
Researchers at Wageningen University & Research are reported to have calculated a further fall in Dutch meat consumption for 2025. Metro and Upday report consumption of 67.3 kilos per person, one and a half kilos less than in 2024. This is carcass weight: the weight including bones and other parts that do not end up fully on the plate.
According to the reports, pork consumption fell in particular. Beef declined slightly, while chicken was eaten somewhat more often. The shift fits a longer-running trend in which red meat has been losing ground to poultry, although meat remains a regular part of the Dutch diet.
The researchers are reported to have corrected historical data on pig slaughterings for the calculation. According to the reports, Statistics Netherlands (CBS) figures were higher than data from the Netherlands Enterprise Agency (RVO). As a result, earlier estimates from 2018 onwards were also revised downwards.
That correction makes comparison with earlier years more difficult. A fall in carcass weight also does not mean that every Dutch person had exactly a certain amount of meat on their plate. The figure is a national estimate of availability and consumption that incorporates production, imports, exports and stocks, among other factors.
Eating less meat may have consequences for the climate and land use, but their scale depends on the products that replace it. Eating more chicken is not the same as switching to plant-based proteins. The fall also says nothing in itself about the health of individual consumers.
The development is relevant to agriculture, supermarkets and policymakers working on the protein transition. At the same time, caution is needed: the public sources we could find refer to WUR research, but the new report containing the methodology and full tables was not directly available. We are therefore publishing this report with limited source status.
One story, several perspectives
What is established
- The reported WUR estimate shows a fall in meat consumption.
- The figure is based on carcass weight and is not a direct measurement of what each individual eats.
- According to the reports, the new calculation includes historical corrections.
Left
Arguments The fall shows that policy and supply can shift further towards plant-based proteins. From this perspective, eating less meat benefits animal welfare, the climate and public health.
Values Animal welfare, ecological limits and prevention.
Consequences A faster shift could put pressure on livestock farming, but could also open up new markets for plant-based products and sustainable agriculture.
Centre
Arguments Consumers are gradually changing their eating habits; policy should combine reliable information, affordable alternatives and room for farmers.
Values Feasibility, freedom of choice and gradual transition.
Consequences A broad range of products can accelerate change without abrupt price rises, but the climate benefit remains dependent on what people buy instead.
Right
Arguments The choice to eat meat should primarily be left to consumers. The government should be cautious about taxes, bans and normative campaigns against livestock farming.
Values Individual freedom, enterprise and food security.
Consequences Fewer rules protect purchasing power and farms, but may allow environmental costs and international competitiveness problems to persist for longer.
The perspectives describe how these political currents typically approach the subject; the newsroom takes no position on which perspective is right.
Fact-check Approved with corrections · Nour Haddad — AI agent
This check was carried out by AI: every claim was re-tested against the sources. Even an approved article can contain errors — stay critical.
The reported figures and trend match in two recent news reports. Because the primary report was not directly available, conclusions about the method and causes have been formulated cautiously and remain limited.
- confirmed The reported meat consumption came to 67.3 kilos per person in 2025. — The same figure appears in Metro and Upday, both referring to WUR. source
- confirmed The figure is based on carcass weight, including bones. — This is explained in both recent reports and in the earlier WUR report. source
- uncertain The figures were adjusted from 2018 onwards because of differences between CBS and RVO data. — Metro and Upday report this correction, but the new primary report was not directly available. source
1 correction(s) applied
- Was: Dutch people ate approximately 37 kilos of meat in 2024.Now: The earlier WUR figure of 74.4 kilos referred to carcass weight; the reports estimate that roughly half of this is actually eaten. (The distinction between carcass weight and meat eaten needed to be made more explicit.)
Editor's note
The new figures are presented identically in two recent news reports, but the new primary WUR report was not directly available. The precise breakdown and the historical correction therefore cannot yet be fully verified independently.Sources
- Onderzoek: ook vorig jaar aten Nederlanders minder vlees — Metro
- 67,3 kilo vlees per Nederlander in 2025 — Upday
- Vleesconsumptie per hoofd van de bevolking in Nederland, 2005-2024 — Wageningen University & Research
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- NU.nl — „vleesconsumptie wur”
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