Meat Your Match Campaign helped 80% of men half their meat intake as part of a fitness regime.
Men need meat… right?
There’s a common misconception around exactly how much protein we need in our diets – and men in particular are the most guilty of exceeding the amount of daily protein recommended.
The gym-heavy culture we live in puts a lot of focus on ‘bulking up’, with myriad protein-packed recipes, meal replacements and supplements on the market that back up this ‘protein fever’ culture.
Meat Your Match is a campaign aimed at encouraging men to reduce their meat-based protein intake, instead replacing it with more sustainable plant-based alternatives. The campaign explains how meat is currently a huge part of this lifestyle:
“Research indicates that for many men, eating meat is embedded into our culture, following the mantra that people have always eaten meat as part of their diet and there is no reason to change this.”
In fact, 60% of men exceed current guidance on daily consumption of red and processed meat. That’s over half of the male population eating way more protein than the body actually needs, even on a high-intensity fitness regime.
The rapidly expanding meat and dairy industries are among the largest contributers to greenhouse gas emissions. In fact, livestock and their by-products actually account for 51% of annual worldwide greenhouse gas emissions.
Meat Your Match saw clearly the necessity of changing the misconceptions of this macho meat culture and its Protein Challenge was a step towards redressing this balance. The ‘Protein Challenge’ campaign initially targeted male gym enthusiasts – challenging them to replace half of their animal-based protein with plant-based, more sustainable alternatives.
Each participant received a fitness tracker and a consultation session with a nutritional practitioner. They were provided with personalised support to help them meet their goals, which included a tasty meal plan and their progress was tracked over a two month period.
The Results
The results of the campaign were very positive – with 80% of participants choosing more plant-based protein and reducing their meat intake by half. Of these, four out of five men (86%) said they were likely to continue to reduce their meat intake moving forward.
When it came to changing attitudes towards a plant-based lifestyle, a whopping 41.5% of participants said they would be more likely to opt for a vegetarian meal when dining out after completing the challenge, compared with just 5% before the trial, proving that attitudes can be changed, and men in fact don’t need meat!
Ready to give it a go? Sign up to our free 31-day vegan pledge!
If you can’t wait to get started, head over to our amazing recipes now!
