This Newspoll phone survey was
undertaken with a random, representative sample of 1202 people across
Australia. The survey was commissioned by the Vegetarian & Vegan
Society of Queensland to find out how many vegetarians and vegans there
are in Australia and
people's attitudes to animals.
The survey found that 5% of Australians
said they were vegetarian while 1% said they were vegan. While 5% of
people said they were vegetarian, only 2% actually ate a vegetarian
diet. This may mean they ate a vegetarian diet most of the time, or that
they
misunderstood what a vegetarian is. Of the 1% of people who said they
were vegan, only one person actually ate a vegan diet. The rest ate
animal flesh, milk products or eggs at least some of the time.
One interesting finding is that 99% of
Australians are against cruelty to animals, yet 98% eat animals and fish that come from cruel, intensive farming practices!
Source: A Pound of Flesh
Roy Morgan Research
(2006)
According to Roy Morgan Research data, as of December 2006, 1,538,000 people
in Australia aged 14 and over agree that "the food I eat is all, or almost all, vegetarian".
That equates to 9.1% of the population aged 14 and over.
Sanitarium
Vegetarian Study (Newspoll) (Australian Component) (2000)
This study was part of national Newspoll omnibus research conducted among 1,200
Australians aged 18 years and over. Respondents were selected by means of a stratified
random sample process and interviews were conducted by telephone over the period
September 8-10, 2000. The research was commissioned by the Sanitarium Health Food
Company.
Findings:
- 44% of Australians report eating at least one meat-free evening meal (that is not
containing meat, poultry or fish) in the last seven days with 18% reporting at least
three or more
- 2% of Australians report being vegetarian
- 18% of Australians say they prefer vegetarian meals
- 29% of Australians say they do not eat vegetarian meals at all
- almost four in ten Australians (38%) would like to know more about interesting ways
of cooking vegetarian meals
- overall 43% of Australians report consuming more vegetarian meals now than they did
a couple of years ago indicating a trend toward vegetarian eating
- the highest trend toward vegetarian eating is seen in young Australians (18-24) with
more than half (51%) reporting they eat more vegetarian meals than a couple of years
ago
- more than any other state, half of Western Australians agree they are eating more
vegetarian meals now than a couple of years ago
- around three in ten (29%) of NSW residents have bought vegetarian food from a
takeaway, restaurant or café in the last 4 weeks
- 77% of Australians who eat vegetarian meals feel there are better vegetarian options
at restaurants, café and takeaway outlets than 5 years ago
- However, almost half of Australians (47%) feel limited by the range of vegetarian meals
currently available when eating out
- 58% of young adult Australians (18-24 year olds) believe it’s difficult to get a variety of
vegetarian meals when eating out.
4802.0
National Nutrition Survey (1995)
Adolescent girls were more likely to be on a special diet than boys. By the
age of 16-18 years almost 20% of girls reported being on some form of special
diet, 5% were on a vegetarian diet, 6% were on a weight reduction diet and a
further 8% were on some other form of diet.
For men, consumption of fruit and fruit products increased with age, while
daily intake of cereals and cereal-based products, milk and milk products, and
meat poultry and game decreased. A similar pattern was observed for women.
Source: Australian
Bureau of Statistics
4306.0 Aussies turn to wine, fruit and vegetables (2000)
Australians decreased their meat intake with apparent per capita consumption
of meat and meat products down 2.3 per cent to 71.6 kg in 1998-99, and down
10.3 per cent since 1988-89, when consumption was 79.8 kg. Major contributors
to the decrease were beef and veal, down 4.5 per cent to 36.4 kg and mutton
down 21 per cent to 4.5 kg per person.
Going against the downward trend in the consumption of beef, veal and mutton
was an increase in consumption of seafood, which saw per capita consumption
increase from 8.3 kg to 10.9 kg, a 31.3 per cent increase in the 10 years from
1988-89 to 1998-99.
During the period 1997-98 and 1998-99, fruit and fruit products (including
fruit juices), consumption increased by 8.3 per cent from 124.7 kg per capita
to 135.0 kg.
Consumption of vegetables has shown a steady 9.4 per cent increase over the
last decade. Per capita consumption of tomatoes showed a significant increase
from 20.9 kg in 1997-98 to 24.9 kg in 1998-99, a rise of 19 per cent. The
category of other vegetables showed an increase in per capita consumption in
1998-99 of 4.6 per cent to 25.1 kg per capita.
Source: Australian
Bureau of Statistics
4306.0 Apparent Consumption of Foodstuffs, Australia
(1938-1998)
Per capita consumption of meat and meat
products
Per capita consumption of fruit and fruit
products
Per capita consumption of vegetables
Source: Australian
Bureau of Statistics
Domestic
Consumption of Beef and Veal
Over the past 40 years Australians' eating habits have undergone many changes. Reasons
for these changes include new cultural influences, health considerations, changes in
relative prices of different foods and substitutes, product marketing and so on. While
beef/veal continues to be one of the most popular meats, it has both enjoyed and suffered the
effects of these changes.
Beef and veal consumption grew from 40 kg per person in the late-1960s to a peak of 70 kg
in 1976-77, coinciding with record production and low prices. Ten years later, reflecting
changing attitudes to red meat, consumption had fallen to 39 kg. This trend continued with
consumption in 1995-96 falling to 36 kg per person. The small increase to 37 kg per person
in 2002-03 was expected to precede a period over the next several years during which time
consumption of beef and veal will run at about 35-36 kg per person. Such fluctuations are
not new and reflect changes in the cattle industry as well as changes in social attitudes and
economic conditions.
Consumer preferences for alternative sources of protein have also changed with the main
changes being the increased consumption of chicken and the reduced consumption of
sheep meat. Consumption of chicken meat increased by 28% from 24 kg in 1988-89 to 31 kg
per person in 1998-99. In 2002-03, per person consumption of chicken meat stood at 35
kg, with the Australian Bureau of Agriculture and Resource Economics (ABARE)
expecting it to exceed consumption of beef/veal in 2003-04. Over the period from 1988-89 to 1998-99,
sheep meat consumption fell from 22 kg per person to 16 kg, with a further decline to 14 kg
expected in 2003-04.
By comparison, the consumption of pigmeat remained relatively constant through the 1990s
at around 19 kg per person. It has since increased slightly and was expected to peak at
22 kg in 2003-04 before easing back to around the 20 kg mark. Seafood consumption
remained in the 10-11 kg per person range during the 1990s but recent data suggests it may
now almost rival sheep meat's consumption rate.
Source: 1301.0 - Year Book Australia (2005), Australian
Bureau of Statistics
Livestock and Poultry Slaughtered in Australia, June Quarter 2007
|
Livestock and
poultry slaughtered in Australia
June Quarter 2007 (April-June) |
|
Cattle
|
2,046,300
|
|
Calves
|
247,300
|
|
Sheep
|
3,015,900
|
|
Lambs
|
5,028,800
|
| Pigs
|
1,329,300
|
| Chickens
|
114,699,400
|
Source: Livestock Products - June Quarter 2007,
Australian
Bureau of Statistics
Livestock and Poultry Slaughtered in Australia for Human Consumption, 2004-2005
|
Livestock and
poultry slaughtered in Australia
for human consumption, 2004-2005 |
|
Cattle
|
|
|
Calves
|
900,000
|
|
Sheep
|
11,400,000
|
|
Lambs
|
17,300,000
|
| Pigs
|
5,300,000
|
| Chickens
|
437,600,000
|
| Other fowls
and turkeys
|
10,200,000
|
| Ducks and
drakes
|
4,700,000
|
Source: 1301.0 - Year Book Australia (2006), Australian
Bureau of Statistics
Meat Production and Slaughterings (1993-94 to 1998-99)
The two tables below show details of slaughtering and meat
production from abattoirs, and from commercial poultry and other slaughtering
establishments. They include estimates of animals slaughtered on farms and by
country butchers. The data relate only to slaughtering for human consumption
and do not include animals condemned or those killed for boiling down.