Veganism and vegetarianism in the Netherlands and Belgium- statistics & facts
Meat avoidance is trending. Both in the Netherlands and in Belgium three percent of consumers followed a vegan diet in 2024, whereas six percent were vegetarian. People are becoming increasingly conscious about their meat consumption and ecological footprint, resulting in the popularity of various meat-free diets. Veganism, vegetarianism, pescetarianism, and flexitarianism are the different degrees of the plant-based lifestyle. For the majority of consumers, however, such strict diets are one step too far. Instead, they opt for a so-called flexitarian diet, in a conscious effort to reduce their meat and fish consumption. In the Netherlands, this diet was followed by roughly 30 percent of adults in 2023.
