Middle class Brits are ditching meat and adopting a ‘climatarian diet’ in a move to reduce their carbon footprint, a new report by Waitrose has revealed.
Dubbed the ‘new 5:2 diet’ – a reference to a popular weight loss method where people only diet two days a week – eco-conscious Britons are spending five days a week veggie and treating themselves to meat at weekends.
But it’s not just cutting down meat consumption to be more green, Waitrose shoppers are also looking for other ways to be more eco-friendly with their diets, including minimising food waste by donating excess food and not buying groceries wrapped in excess packaging.
Middle class Brits are ditching meat and adopting a ‘climatarian diet’ in a move to reduce their carbon footprint, a new report by Waitrose has revealed (stock image)
Nearly 70 per cent of Waitrose customers said reducing their climate footprint was either ‘very’ or ‘somewhat’ important.
Over the year, shoppers focused on what more we can be doing to regenerate the environment.
Shoppers stopped buying sandwiches to go at the beginning of the year as we lovingly made homemade feasts while working from home.
The report also found Britain has become a nation of homebodies, as we have fallen back in love with our homes and rediscovered the joy of intimate dinner parties.
Shoppers stopped buying sandwiches to go at the beginning of the year as we lovingly made homemade feasts while working from home (stock image)
Even though we are allowed to socialise once again, the country is embracing staying at home and entertaining loved ones.
Sales of Champagne are up 40 per cent year-on-year as customers spend more money on little treats as we emerge from the pandemic.
Over the year, we also brought our kitchens outdoors – one in five of those surveyed said they’d invested in a new barbecue while one in ten said they’d installed an outdoor bar.
The report into how our eating and drinking habits have evolved over the past 12 months also highlights how social media has influenced our shopping lists.
Platforms such as Instagram and TikTok have driven sales of everything from feta and tortillas to pesto and potatoes due to viral food trends.
The TikTok trend for making pasta chips at home contributed to a 400 per cent rise in sales of air fryers at John Lewis.
The way Brits shopped has changed too, with a quarter of Waitrose shoppers buying groceries online for the first time in 2021, while the number of people buying food on a daily basis has doubled in a year.
These shopping trends – increased frequency and the continued growth of online – will only accelerate in the future.
A third of people polled have been using on-demand food delivery apps during the pandemic.
Over the year Waitrose extended their partnership with Deliveroo to 150 locations.
The report’s Deliveroo Map reveals the nation’s most popular products for rapid home delivery.
James Bailey, Executive Director at Waitrose, told FEMAIL: ‘The past 19 months have seen us fall back in love with our homes.
‘We’ve rediscovered the fun, creativity and sense of togetherness that food brings to our households and many have embraced the inspiration that we get from popping to the shops to pick up our groceries.
‘The majority of the people we surveyed told us the pandemic has fundamentally changed their outlook: they’re more conscious of their mental and physical health, they’re enjoying life’s simple pleasures, and they’ve embraced the importance of family and friends.’
Move over Nigella.. Brits are now going to TikTok for cooking tips
By Sean Poulter for the Daily Mail
Move over Jamie Oliver, Nigella and Delia, for young Britons are turning to TikTok for cooking tips.
The trend is bringing us dishes such as pesto eggs, pasta chips, whipped lemonade, feta pasta and mozzarella doughnuts.
The TikTok clips are winning millions of views from social media influencers such as Amy Wilichowski, chef Nick Di Giovanni and Marliyn La Jeunesse.
Pesto eggs is the latest food trend to go viral on TikTok and Instagram after more than 1.4million people watched registered dietitian Amy Wilichowski share how baking eggs in pesto instead of olive oil is the secret to a delicious breakfast twist. Pictured one Instagram users attempt
The trend has been identified by the Waitrose Food and Drink report, which charts changing tastes and sales.
Under this heading, the supermarket is predicting the rise of ‘potato milk’ as an alternative to dairy as well a batch-made bottles of popular cocktails.
It is also tracking a rise of climatarianism, which is a diet focused on reducing your carbon footprint, which supports eating seasonal local food and cutting out meat.
Alongside this, the report suggests many people are adopting a 5:2 diet, where they only eat meat two days a week.
It has also picked up that people want to have multiple Christmas lunches as they share dinners or celebrations with friends as well as family.
Executive director at Waitrose, James Bayley, said: ‘TikTok and Instagram continue to be dizzying treasure troves of innovation, expression and joy when it comes to food and home cooking.
‘Three-quarters of all 18- 24-year-olds we surveyed told us they’ve been looking at TikTok or Instagram for food inspiration over the past year.
‘It’s made the food world a wonderfully intimate place, for example, a food trend might take off in South Korea and within a day, half a million people over here are asking about the ingredient.
‘Food on these platforms is creative, exciting and fast-moving.’
Waitrose said: ‘We know that people are having ‘second Christmases’ with their pals because #Friendsmas has amassed 16.2 million views on TikTok.’
Looking at sales trends, Waitrose saw a boom for canned fish with, for example, sales of mackerel and anchovies up 17per cent in August.
Searches for barbecued watermelon recipes on Waitrose.com rose by 65per cent in August, while the figure for Knickerbocker glory recipe was up 171per cent.
Sushi sales are up 54 per cent, while the figure for herbs and spices rose 41 per cent.
Products that we took off our shopping list includes ironing water, an alcoholic Lovage cordial, tights and ready-made sandwiches.