Counting contexts that count: An exploration of the contextual correlates of meat consumption in three Western European countries

A reduction in the demand for meat and a shift to more plant-based consumption has the potential to significantly enhance the sustainability and health of many people's diets. In the current work, I examine contextual predictors of meat consumption in nationally representative nutrition surveys from three Western European Counties: Switzerland, France and the Netherlands. More specifically, I examine whether the contextual factors - the meal type, the day of the week and the location of the food consumption occasion - are predictive of whether meat is consumed. The results indicate that all three factors are linked to meat consumption with the patterns varying substantially across the different case study countries and the gender of the consumer. The results emphasise the importance of examining contextual correlates when looking to understand and influence meat consumption, while also highlighting important differences across both cultures and people.