Meat Consumption in Spain.
Are we Becoming a Country of Vegetarians?

El consumo de carne en España. ¿Nos estamos haciendo vegetarianos?

Isabel García-Espejo, Cecilia Díaz-Méndez and Adrián Álvarez-Rodríguez

Palabras clave Diet Change Meat Consumption Food Culture Diet Recommendations Social Determinants Vegetarianism

Abstract Institutional diet recommendations suggest making changes to food habits to promote a healthier and more sustainable diet. Part of these recommendations is a reduction in meat consumption. But this conflicts with omnivorous diet models such as that found in Spain. This study investigates changes in the consumption of meat and vegetables in Spain through the use of logistic regressions and data from the Household Budget Survey (Encuesta de Presupuestos Familiares) (2006 to 2022) and the European Health Interview Survey (EHIS) in Spain (2014-2020). The results do not show the emergence of a new vegetable-based diet model. Meat consumption is linked to social groups with high occupational and educational status prevails, contrary to what has been found in other countries. Some resistance to a model change was observed.

Key words Cambio alimentario Consumo de carne Cultura alimentaria Recomendaciones alimentarias Determinantes sociales Vegetarianismo

Resumen Las recomendaciones alimentarias institucionales sugieren cambios en los hábitos para favorecer una dieta más saludable y sostenible y la reducción del consumo de carne forma parte de estas indicaciones. Pero esta recomendación se enfrenta a los modelos alimentarios omnívoros como el español. En este trabajo se estudian los cambios en el consumo de carne y verduras en España, por medio de regresiones logísticas y con datos de la Encuesta de Presupuestos Familiares (2006 a 2022) y la Encuesta Europea de Salud en España (2014-2020). Los resultados no muestran la aparición de un nuevo modelo alimentario basado en vegetales. Prevalece el consumo de carne vinculado a los grupos sociales con niveles ocupacionales y educativos altos, al contrario que en otros países, y se perciben resistencias para un cambio de modelo.

Citation

García-Espejo, Isabel; Díaz-Méndez, Cecilia; Álvarez-Rodríguez, Adrián (2025). «Meat Consumption in Spain. Are we Becoming a Country of Vegetarians?». Revista Española de Investigaciones Sociológicas, 189: 43-62. (doi: 10.5477/cis/reis.189.43-62)

Isabel García-Espejo: Universidad de Oviedo | igarcia@uniovi.es

Cecilia Díaz-Méndez: Universidad de Oviedo | cecilia@uniovi.es

Adrián Álvarez-Rodríguez: Universidad de Oviedo | alvarezradrian@uniovi.es

Introduction

Meat is the major source of protein in European diets. However, its consumption has been questioned in recent years for two main reasons: firstly, because of the environmental impact of its production; and secondly, because of the negative health effects of over-consumption (Beal et al., 2023). Institutions are therefore recommending changes in the entire agri-food system that would affect production, industry and distribution, with particular emphasis on recommending a change in habits and encouraging a reduction in meat consumption.

The recommendations to reduce meat consumption are primarily based on the environmental problems associated with meat production. Several studies have pointed out that livestock rearing is one of the main causes of deforestation in many regions (Ermgassen et al., 2020). Intensive production farming raises concerns about biodiversity loss and soil degradation (Solgi, Sheikhzadeh and Solgi, 2018) and more generally, agricultural practices have been identified as sources of freshwater pollution (Rothrock et al., 2019). These problems are at the core of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) reports, which call for a shift towards more sustainable production systems. This report suggests making diet changes, meat production being presented as one of the least sustainable forms of production, with the highest environmental impact (IPPC, 2022).

In addition to the environmental effects associated with meat production, health is another issue of controversy and concern. The westernisation of diets has led to a progressive increase in animal protein and the abandonment of traditional diets based on plant proteins (Popkin, 2003; Sans and Combris, 2015). Evidence exists that has linked red and processed meat consumption to premature mortality, as well as to an increased risk of chronic diseases (Wolk, 2016), hypertension, risk of heart disease and metabolic disorders (Acosta-Navarro et al., 2015). Nutritional studies have confirmed diet shifts towards less healthy choices with a tendency to have an excessive consumption of meat products and a reduction of pulses, vegetables and greens, a process that has also been detected in Spain (Varela, 2014; Muñoz et al., 2017). These considerations are in line with the change towards healthy and sustainable diets suggested by the FAO and the WHO. Both institutions have promoted the reduction in the consumption of ultra-processed foods and advocated for the adoption of balanced diets based on fresh foods and a decreased intake of saturated fat (EAT-Lancet, 2019; FAO and WHO, 2020; IPCC, 2022). Plant-based diets have therefore been generally proposed as an alternative that meets the requirements of healthy and sustainable eating in line with institutional guidelines, as in addition to being healthy, they also have lower environmental impact than omnivorous diets (Rosi et al., 2017). The changes proposed by international organisations have prompted debate on the effects of eliminating or reducing meat consumption (Schenk, Rössel and Scholz, 2018; Hagmann, Siegrist and Hartmann, 2019).

In light of the above, some authors have confirmed that Mediterranean and Atlantic diets have a high nutritional score and a low carbon footprint (González-García et al., 2018). But the recommendations themselves have also been called into question, as they are neither socially nor culturally innocuous, nor do they constitute a response solely aimed at guaranteeing the health of the population, but they are also aligned with economic, social or political factors that are specific to a particular historical point in time (Díaz-Méndez and Gómez-Benito, 2010). The control of meat consumption is directly linked to omnivorous dietary models, where meat is one of the staples of the diet and this shift could lead to a change in the diet model itself (González-García et al., 2018). Likewise, institutional recommendations are not unrelated to the values of a society. The orientation towards post-materialistic values is a trend in most developed societies. The emergence of values connected with well-being and care and the departure from more materialistic values such as security are also setting trends in food (Inglehart, 1991). The hierarchy of values associated with food varies significantly between countries. This is particularly so in Southern Europe, where food cultures are well established, and values and concerns about food insecurity are still predominant, as opposed to the sustainability values that are strongly emerging in northern European welfare societies (Special Eurobarometer, 2020).

The aforementioned research suggests that further studies are needed at national level to analyse current trends in meat consumption in Spain, especially bearing in mind two considerations. The first one is that the Spanish population is the largest meat consumer in Europe after the United Kingdom (Sans and Combris, 2015; Cantero, Santos, and López-Ejeda, 2023); and the second is that as Spain has a socially and culturally well-established diet model, which makes it difficult to alter the composition of eating patterns. This is why it is important to consider whether changes are taking place that are aimed at replacing meat with vegetables (Díaz-Méndez and García-Espejo, 2019).

This article first presents the evolution of the consumption of different types of meat and vegetables in Spain based on the Household Budget Survey (from 2006 to 2022), in order to show the general context of consumption. The data provided correspond to the years between two crises: from the period immediately preceding the 2008 economic crisis until the COVID-19 health crisis. This provides an overview of eating habits covering two significant social and economic phenomena in the country. The starting hypothesis is that the strong and permanent presence of the Mediterranean diet in the eating habits of Spaniards, which does not exclude the consumption of meat, will lead to low adherence to vegetarian diets among the population.

The second objective of this article is to determine the socio-demographic differences in the consumption of meat and vegetables among Spaniards in order to identify those who best follow diet recommendations, as well as the profiles of those who consume more and less of these products, respectively. This will allow us to identify the social groups that are more prone to change. The data source used was the European Health Interview Survey (EHIS) in Spain (Encuesta Europea de Salud en España) (2014 and 2020). Taking into account the strength of Spanish food culture, we hypothesised that factors related to the position of individuals on the social scale condition their consumption patterns and their following of nutritional health recommendations, affecting the consumption of meat and vegetables.

Influence of socio-demographic factors on diet habits in relation to meat and vegetable consumption

In order to analyse the profiles of different types of consumers in relation to meat and vegetables, it is necessary to conduct a review of the research that has addressed how socio-demographic factors such as gender, age, education and social class influence the consumption of such products. These studies must be linked to each country concerned, in order to determine whether the Spanish case has specific characteristics of interest.

Gender has been shown to have an impact on the consumption habits of both meat and vegetables in Europe. In Germany and Spain, women have been found to make more favourable diet choices in line with diet guidelines for both meat and vegetable consumption (Heuer et al., 2015; Muñoz et al., 2017). In the UK, research that connected food preferences showed that males prefer eating meat and females prefer having vegetables (Yau, Adams and Monsivais, 2019).

The age of the consumer is another influential factor when making food choices. By age group, young people in Spain follow the least healthy diets, with a higher consumption of meat products and fast food (Cerezo-Prieto and Frutos-Esteban, 2020; Rodríguez and Guzmán, 2023). In the United States, the evolution of meat consumption through the different stages of life has been analysed based on the assumption that men are the biggest consumers of meat. These studies have shown that differences in meat consumption are significant from adolescence to the age of 65. In the 12 to 35 age range, men start to show a trend towards greater meat consumption, differences increase in the intermediate ages (between 35 and 65), and once past the age of 65, men’s and women’s food choices tend to become more similar (Ritzel and Mann, 2021).

Consumers’ education level also correlates with their consumption habits, especially with meat and vegetable consumption. Higher education has been associated with lower consumption of red and processed meat, as found in Poland (Stoś et al., 2022), Denmark (Dynesen et al., 2003) and the UK (Clonan, Roberts and Holdsworth, 2016). This relationship has been justified by arguing that more educated individuals have greater awareness of the health implications associated with the consumption of these products, leading to higher consumption of food considered healthy, such as oily fish, fruit and vegetables (Clonan, Roberts and Holdsworth, 2016). While greater consumption of fruit and vegetables has been found among the population with high levels of education in Spain (González et al., 2002; Díaz-Méndez and García-Espejo, 2019), such levels have also been associated with higher consumption of beef unlike in other countries (Escribá-Pérez et al., 2017).

When it comes to consumer habits, socio-economic status, occupation and social class are differentiating factors. Studies agree that the most disadvantaged social groups have poorer diet quality and less adherence to diet recommendations, as confirmed among the British population (Yau, Adams and Monsavais, 2019). But evidence is contradictory in relation to meat consumption. In many Western countries, and particularly in the United States, consumers in lower socio-economic positions tend to eat more meat and buy cheaper meat products than consumers in higher social class positions (Gossard and York, 2003). This relationship remains when looking at consumption of red meat, white meat and processed meat in the case of Ireland, where there is a positive relationship between the consumption of processed meat and low social class (Cosgrove, Flynn and Kiely, 2005). Likewise, it has been observed in France that the upper social classes are the ones who have most reduced meat consumption, initially for health-related reasons, and more recently due to concerns about animal welfare and the environmental impact of meat production (Cartron and Fichet, 2020). The situation in Spain is different from the rest, as higher per capita consumption is found among middle and upper class households compared to lower class households, where meat consumption is increasingly lower (Martín, 2010; Gracia-Arnaíz, 2014; Escribá-Pérez et al., 2017; Martín, 2018).

Regarding fruit and vegetable consumption, Maguire and Monsivais (2015) analysed social gradients in diet in the UK and identified social class as an influential factor in the intake of these products. Individuals belonging to higher social class groups tend to consume more fruit and vegetables. A similar result was obtained in the study by Rehm et al. (2016) conducted among the US population, and the same has been found to be true for Spain (Díaz-Méndez and García-Espejo, 2019). Roos et al (2001) reported the same results in most European countries.

Several studies have suggested that increased consumption of vegetables and fruit may reduce the risk of obesity. Research in Italy has confirmed that obesity is associated with a higher consumption of red meat and sugary drinks (Leone et al., 2017); and it has been linked to less frequent consumption of vegetables, pulses and fruit, in favour of fast food, meat and dairy among the Polish population (Sidor and Rzymski, 2020). However, the role of vegetable and fruit consumption in the prevention of obesity remains unclear, as multiple factors such as physical activity (Boeing et al., 2012) or the presence of other products such as potatoes, sugary drinks, butter and refined cereals in the diet (Leone et al., 2017) may also play a role. Meat consumption may be one of the factors associated with obesity, but it is not the only one.

Data sources
and methodology

Various data sources were used to analyse the meat and vegetable consumption behaviour of the Spanish population, as well as the socio-demographic characteristics most closely associated with this consumption. Two complementary sources were used which were also necessary to answer the hypotheses formulated at the outset. The Household Budget Survey (Encuesta de Presupuestos Familiares (EPF)) of the National Statistics Institute (Instituto Nacional de Estadística (INE)) was used to determine the evolution of consumption in kilograms of meat from 2006 to 2022. This survey uses two measures, units (in kg) and purchase cost (in euros). This source made it possible to analyse the variations according to the different types of meat, thus providing an overview of the meat purchased by Spaniards, a proxy of consumption.

These data were supported by those obtained from the EHIS in Spain, conducted by the INE for the years 2014 and 2020. The target population was randomly selected and consisted of persons aged 15 years and over among those living in family dwellings who had responded to the individual questionnaire employed in this study. This nationwide survey provides consumption frequencies of various types of food. These frequencies were: one or more times a day, four to six times a week, three times a week, once or twice a week, less than once a week and never. The latter frequency allowed vegetarians to be those who “never” ate meat. In this article, these frequencies have been analysed with respect to meat consumption and vegetable consumption. The reference points for healthy consumption are those suggested by the Spanish Society of Community Nutrition (SENC, 2020: 12 and 14) (Sociedad Española de Nutrición Comunitaria): daily consumption of vegetables and meat consumption three times a week. This is also the recommendation of the Spanish food guide (AESAN, 2022).

Consumer profiles associated with higher or lower meat and vegetable consumption were then analysed using logistic regression models. In the case of meat, three models were developed for each year: a first model in which the dependent variable took the values “1” for very frequent consumption (one or more times a day and 4-6 times a week) and “0” for the rest; a second model where “1” was the recommended frequency of three times a week and “0” the rest; and a third model of infrequent consumption where “1” encompassed consumption frequencies of less than three times a week and “0” the rest. In the case of vegetable consumption, for both 2014 and 2020, a model was used to represent very frequent consumption, with “1” referring to a frequency of one or more times per day, which is the recommended consumption level, and “0” for the rest. The socio-demographic independent variables of the surveyed individual included gender, age, nationality, marital status, educational level and social class of the main breadwinner (the person who contributed most to the household budget). Two other lifestyle variables were added to these, namely obesity (through the Body Mass Index) and frequency of physical activity. The coefficients of the models are expressed in odds ratios (ORs).

Results

The amount of meat products purchased by Spanish households decreased from 6.6 % to 4.8 % over the period from 2006 to 2022. This reduction in meat purchases relative to total food was mainly observed from 2016 onwards (Table 1).

Table 2 shows that the most common meat in the shopping basket is cold and cured meats (dried, salted or smoked meat), which represented an average of 30 % of the meat bought by Spaniards. This was followed by poultry meat, and in third place by beef and pork. The latter two types of meat accounted for around 15 % of total meat consumption purchased by households.

With regard to the evolution of consumption differentiated by types of meat, based on data referring to purchases, it should be noted that the sharpest decline was found in beef purchases, moving from 15.7 % of the meat purchased in 2006 to 10.2 % of the meat purchased in 2022. In contrast, the purchase of pork increased slightly, whereas purchases of poultry rose to a greater extent, from 22.7 % in 2006 to 29.5 % in 2022. The consumption of offal and giblets (around 2 %) and cured, dried salted or smoked meat, which in Spain could be globally called cold meats (embutidos) (around 30 %), has remained fairly stable over the last 20 years, when considering the purchase of these products in daily shopping. It should be noted that the purchase of processed meat and other meat-based preparations represented only 8 % of the total food purchases of Spaniards, in relation to the total number of meat products purchased (Table 2).

These results show a slight increase in the most consumed or purchased meat, cured meats and cold meats, but above all, an increase in poultry and pork, accompanied by a decrease in beef purchases. There has also been a downward variation in the purchase of traditionally under-consumed meats, such as chevon (goat’s meat) and lamb. Everything suggests that the variations have more to do with the change in the type of meat than with an overall shift in consumption: more expensive meats (beef and veal) have been replaced by cheaper meats (poultry and pork).

This is reinforced when considering the variations in periods of crisis. Whereas the purchase of meats such as cold meats (dried, salted, cured and smoked meats) was not affected by the crises, the purchase of beef was seen to gradually decrease regardless of the period analysed. The effect of the economic crisis on the purchases of pork and poultry is striking. Pork purchases started to decline during the economic crisis and maintained a gentle rise thereafter; poultry purchases increased during the economic crisis and maintained a gradual rise. The COVID-19 crisis did not result in changes in the consumption of any type of meat, according to the data of the Household Budget Survey.

The Household Budget Survey provides data on the purchases made in households both in terms of expenditure (euros) and units (kg) of products purchased. This information was complemented by the EHIS in Spain, which better approximates actual consumption by asking about the frequency of weekly consumption of a specific product. The Household Budget Survey also records purchase receipts, while the EHIS in Spain records the frequency of consumption reported by the respondent, indicative of self-perception of adherence to diet recommendations. The data provided by the EHIS in Spain for 2014 and 2020 allow changes in the frequency of meat and vegetable consumption to be detected (Tables 3 and 4).

As shown in Table 3, the EHIS in Spain detected a decrease in the highest meat consumption frequencies: once or more times a day (down 1.9 points) and 4-6 times a week (down 1.7 points). The diet recommendation, namely, meat consumption three times a week, remained the most common consumption pattern and even increased from 37.9 % in 2014 to 41 % in 2020. No trend towards lower consumption was seen in the lower frequencies, although there were variations of around half a percentage point between the two years. Thus, it was found that 26 % of Spaniards ate meat once or twice a week over the period under study. Only 2 % ate meat less than once a week and only 1 % of the Spanish population totally abstained from eating meat, which would mean that they were vegetarians. In short, there was a slight increase in the number of people who followed the diet recommendations for meat consumption, and this percentage was mainly made up of those people who consumed meat more often than recommended for health reasons. Even so, this group that over-consumed meat still accounted for one third of the population.

Table 3. Frequency of meat consumption in Spain 2014-2020 (%)

	2014	2020
One or more times a day	8.9	7.0
4 to 6 times a week	24.2	22.5
Three times a week	37.9	41.0
Once or twice a week	25.5	26.1
Less than once a week	2.6	2.1
Never	0.9	1.3
Sample size	22,842	22,072

Source: Developed by the authors based on the EHIS in Spain 2014, 2020 (National Institute of Statistics).

Regarding the evolution of vegetable consumption (Table 4), the healthy consumption recommendation suggests eating vegetables one or more times a day, which was the most frequent pattern identified among the Spanish population: around 45 % of people followed this recommendation. This percentage decreased slightly to 44.1 % in 2020. On the other hand, the frequency represented by consumption 4-6 times a week increased from 25.3 % to 27.7 %, followed to a lesser extent by a frequency of three times a week (16.1 % in 2014 to 17.5 % in 2020). The lower frequencies fell slightly over the time period considered. All in all, there was significant stability in vegetable consumption and it is worth remembering that half of the population consumed vegetables below the recommended frequency for health reasons.

Table 4. Frequency of vegetable consumption
in Spain 2014-2020 (%)

	2014	2020
One or more times a day	45.2	44.1
4 to 6 times a week	25.3	27.7
Three times a week	16.1	17.5
Once or twice a week	10.3	8.6
Less than once a week	2.1	1.6
Never	1.1	0.6
Sample size	22,842	22,072

Source: Developed by the authors based on the EHIS in Spain 2014, 2020 (National Institute of Statistics).

The consumer profile most commonly associated with each of the different meat consumption models will be discussed below. Following the data in Table 5 and starting with the profile of people who exceeded the recommended frequency of meat consumption, it can be confirmed that many of the variables introduced in the model for the years 2014 and 2020 were significant. Thus, men’s consumption of meat was clearly higher than women’s. Similarly, there was a highly significant statistical association by age, with age groups below 60 years being the most likely to consume meat very frequently, especially young people up to 30 years of age (more than three times higher than those over 60 years of age in 2014). Spaniards were also found to be more likely to eat meat more frequently than foreigners. The educational and social class stratification variables clearly showed that having a low level of education, in particular, an educational attainment level of primary education, reduced the likelihood of high meat consumption and the same was true for unskilled workers. On the other hand, people whose jobs were directors and managers, and above all, supervisors and technicians, were the biggest consumers of meat, a behaviour that is very specific to Spain compared to other European countries.

People with obesity had the highest frequency of meat intake. The same was true for those who were more physically active. These results remained fairly stable over the two years considered in the analysis, which may indicate that there was a well-established pattern of consumption that did not change excessively over time, although the influence of obesity and physical activity tended to increase.

With regard to the consumption of meat according to the recommended frequency of three times a week (Table 6), not many statistically significant differences were found, as this was the most widespread behaviour among the population, especially in 2014. The situation showed considerably shifted in 2020, with marital status and educational attainment increasing in significance. Married and widowed people were more likely to follow this diet recommendation. On the other hand, consumers with primary and vocational training education were again the least likely to comply with the recommended frequency. The influence of the social class of the main breadwinner, however, was less important in terms of adherence to the recommendation (Table 6).

Table 7 shows the last model analysed in relation to meat consumption. This model was represented by a lower than recommended consumption (three times a week). In both 2014 and 2020, women and people over 60 years old were the groups most likely to follow this dietary pattern, as were consumers whose educational attainment level was primary education. Young and middle-aged people and married people displayed the opposite behaviour. The lower social classes were among those who ate less meat than recommended. In line with the previous pattern, both underweight and normal-weight people consumed less meat per week than obese people in 2020 (Table 7).

Regarding vegetable consumption (Table 8) and following the consumer profile that most identifies with following the recommended frequency of one or more times a day, lower social segmentation was observed, which is logical considering that following the norm was the most pattern most often found among the population. There were also some differences between 2014 and 2020. In 2014, few social differentiation factors influenced vegetable consumption. The level of education was the most significant factor in this year, and it was those with a university education who were most likely to adhere to the daily vegetable consumption recommendation. In the year 2020 the educational level variable lost influence and age became the variable that most differentiated the population in daily vegetable consumption. The population over 60 years of age ate vegetables most frequently; in contrast, young people were the least likely to meet the healthy intake recommendation (Table 8).

Discussion

Meat consumption in Spain was significantly stable between 2006 and 2022, albeit there was a slight decrease over this period, which indicated that it was not significantly affected by the trends and recommendations encouraging its reduction. These slight changes can be better understood by analysing variations in the type of meat intake: consumption of the most common meat in the diet, cold meats (cured, dried, salted or smoked meat) remained stable over the period under study, while consumption of the most expensive meat (beef) decreased, giving place to increasing intake levels of lower-priced meat (pork and poultry). The latter are the only meat types that were consumed more often during periods of economic crisis, especially poultry; but it is worth noting their constant rise, as they did not return to previous levels once the economic crisis had passed. The data paint a picture of stability in the national food culture, where diet patterns are still based on meat consumption and what really seems to motivate a change in habits is associated with economic constraints, although changes in the types of meat may also indicate habits that are stabilising for health reasons.

The frequency of meat and vegetable consumption helps to shape the change in meat consumption. There is a tendency for the population as a whole to follow the healthy consumption recommendation, (three times a week) which is the pattern of the majority. In recent years, there has been a slight increase in the number of people following this health pattern, and this group is mainly made up of those who consumed more meat than recommended. Despite this trend, one third of the population exceeds the recommended intake. Vegetable intake remains stable, although this recommendation is followed to a lesser extent than that concerning meat, and almost half of the population has a lower than desirable frequency of consumption.

There are differences between different population groups, with women and those over 60 years of age they more closely follow the recommendations regarding the reduction of meat consumption; this corroborates the importance of gender and age in meat consumption, as found in other studies. At the other end of the spectrum were young men, who, in addition to being the heaviest consumers, seem to be less sensitive to following the health recommendation. It is noteworthy that people who are physically active are the most frequent consumers of meat, a behaviour possibly also associated with age. There is less social segmentation in vegetable consumption, although age also makes a difference, with greater adherence to healthy recommendations among those over 60 years old. In general, the health recommendations for both meat and vegetables have more followers among older people and women. Vegetarian (meat-free) diets are followed by less than 1 % of the population, thus showing very low prevalence in Spanish society.

Social class and educational level have been found to have significant influence on both meat and vegetable consumption. These results differ from those obtained in other countries in relation to meat consumption. Directors and managers, supervisors and technicians and even skilled workers, together with those with a higher educational level, consume meat more frequently on a weekly basis, while the population with unskilled manual worker occupations and primary education are the groups who were found to have the lowest meat intake levels. There is less social differentiation in vegetable consumption, and only age is setting trends, with those over 60 following the recommendation better.

These results show that there is a strong association between meat consumption and socio-economic status in Spain, but in the opposite direction to other countries. Social class (occupation and educational level) is the factor that causes most differences in meat consumption in the Spanish case, so it can be said that meat intake frequency continues to be associated with social status, while in other countries it is vegetable consumption that works in this way. At the same time, economic restrictions can force a change in the type of meat consumed, leading the poorer population to opt for lower-priced meat. This income-related change paradoxically results in a better fit with health parameters.

Conclusions

In view of the data obtained, it could be said that Spanish society maintains fairly stable eating habits, which reflect the strong implementation of the Mediterranean diet in the country, a diet model that does not exclude the consumption of meat. However, trends can be detected that may be the seed of a cultural change and a departure from the health parameters associated with the Spanish Mediterranean diet model.

The orientation towards lower priced meats has kept the population within the healthy consumption limits and the situation has not worsened because economic constrains have worked in favour of health recommendations; but if prices continue to put pressure on the poorer classes, purchases may drift towards processed meats, which are cheaper than the rest. This anticipates less healthy habits among the poor than at present. On the other hand, if meat consumption functions as a status identifier, rather than vegetable consumption, people may increase their consumption as they become better off economically, and this may lead to a worsening of the diet. In essence, it seems necessary to pay attention both to the most economically vulnerable groups and to the values associated with middle class food consumption.

The structure of Spanish diet patterns remains the same, and meat and vegetables continue to be a basic staple; but the patterns have started to change, with both an excess of meat and a reduction in vegetable consumption. It has also been seen that health recommendations are at the heart of the transformations. However, these changes have an unequal impact on the population: there has been a change in meat consumption among women and older people based on health recommendations but without deviating from the cultural food model. This may be because they have a stronger food culture due to their age or their experience as managers of household food. In contrast, young people, who are less attached to the cultural food model, deviate more from the healthy norm.

Everything seems to indicate that the recommendation to reduce meat consumption is being assimilated into the food model itself without generating strong transformations; however, it is worth enquiring whether this recommendation may be challenging the lifestyle habits of the younger population, the group with the least consolidated food model and therefore the one that is most open to transformation. Values associated with environmental protection are, on the contrary, more present in these age groups, but neither health nor sustainability seem to be at the basis of less healthy and sustainable food choices than those of the rest of the population.

There are reasons to believe that we are witnessing food changes in Spain. It is important to pay attention to the trends, both in order to influence the positive features of the model and to anticipate the negative effects of the changes. Moving towards a progressively more sustainable diet is a goal to be achieved, but in view of the transformational factors that are being revealed by the changes in meat and vegetable consumption, it seems more appropriate to continue to emphasise the importance of health in promoting a shift towards a sustainable diet. Despite all the perceived features of change, the social reproduction of the Spanish food model continues to be underpinned by health. Therefore, the socio-economic factors that impede a healthy diet should be addressed in order to encourage widespread uptake of the model across all social groups.

Finally, some limitations of the data used should be noted. It would have been desirable to be able to analyse a longer time period from the EHIS, but the 2009 survey did not record the frequency of meat consumption. Additionally, changes in trends would be better explained by data from a single survey, rather than having one source for recording quantities purchased and another for frequency of consumption.

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