Flexitarians eat vegetarian food, but not always. Here you can find out what makes this type of diet special and what advantages the mainly plant-based diet offers.
Flexitarians – what is that?
Flexitarians are people who eat mostly vegetarian food, but on rare occasions also eat meat. So the word is made up of “flexible” and “vegetarian”. Most of the meat that flexitarians eat is from animals that have been raised organically, appropriate to their species.
According to a survey by the Society for Consumer Research, more than a third of German households say that they consciously reduce their meat consumption. These people can also be called flexitarians.
A vegetarian or vegan diet is the most ecological way to eat. But if everyone eats less meat, the environment gains more than if only a few people live 100% consistently meat-free. You can therefore be proud of your flexitarian diet: it is already significantly more sustainable than those with average meat consumption in Germany.
Flexitarian always works
As a flexitarian, you would only eat meat in certain situations, e.g. at family celebrations or other invitations or on vacation. If you set yourself clear rules as to when eating meat is an option for you – meat only from species-appropriate husbandry, only on a certain day of the week or only from grandma – it will be easy for you to stick to your principles. In addition, self-imposed principles help you to consume significantly less meat in the long term. If at some point your principles are no longer enough for you, you can of course further reduce your meat consumption at any time.
Flexitarian nutrition for better animal husbandry
High-quality organic meat is more expensive than the discount meat from factory farming. You can still afford it if you only buy meat on special occasions. As a flexitarian, you can afford meat from organic animal husbandry on a small budget. This means that the animals have more space to roam, are not given preventive antibiotics and are fed organic feed. As a flexitarian and critical consumer, you support better animal husbandry.
Flexitarian diet is healthy
A varied diet is healthy. This can be achieved both with and without meat. For flexitarians, the varied diet is particularly easy to achieve, as they often consume very consciously.
