The drop in meat consumption in the Netherlands continued last year, researchers at Wageningen University & Research (WUR) have said. There has been a noteworthy drop in pork being eaten. Beef consumption has dropped slightly, while chicken is being eaten a little more than a year ago. WUR has been keeping records of meat consumption in the Netherlands since 2005.
The total meat consumption in the Netherlands was 67.3 kilograms per person in 2025, a drop of one and a half kilos compared to the previous year. The researchers calculate meat consumption based on carcass weight, which includes bones. Since roughly half of that weight is actually consumed, the average person in the Netherlands ate around 33.7 kilograms of meat in 2025, compared with 34.4 kilograms a year earlier.
Meat consumption has been declining in the Netherlands for several years now. People in the Netherlands are continuing to move away from red meat in favour of poultry, a trend also seen in other countries. Animal welfare organisation Wakker Dier welcomed the decline in meat consumption, saying in a press release: “Eating meat is becoming less popular. That is good news for the animals and the climate.”
The researchers also revised historical figures dating back to 2018 to account for discrepancies in slaughter data from Statistics Netherlands. The agency’s figures for the number of pigs slaughtered were higher than those recorded by the Netherlands Enterprise Agency (RVO), affecting the calculated consumption figures.
The adjustment significantly reduced the estimated amount of pork consumed and lowered the overall meat consumption figures as well. Wakker Dier said Statistics Netherlands had confirmed that it would correct the data.
