UK:we will turn veggie by 2047

All Britons could be vegetarian by 2047 as 2,000 people a week stop eating meat, a study claimed yesterday. Already 40 per cent of Brits avoid eating meat at least once a week with six per cent of the population totally vegetarian.

Jan Walsh, of the Consumer Analysis Group which did the research with Safeway, said: "To think that we could all be vegetarians by 2047 will come as a shock for some people, but it seems like we will be entering an age where the nation as a whole has finally begun to understand and respect the environment."

She added: "You can almost imagine that in the future it will be the norm to be vegetarian and people will have to consciously opt to eat meat, rather than the other way around."

Britain has the second largest number of vegetarians in Europe after Germany.

The study, released yesterday for National Vegetarian Week, estimated that a lifelong vegetarian saves 760 chickens, five cows, 20 pigs, 20 sheep and half a tonne of fish. And the average non-meat eater visits hospital 22 per cent less often, saving the NHS £220 a year per person - a potential cost cut of £736 million.

Safeway spokeswoman Louise Barnett said: "Supermarkets have had a positive impact on the numbers of people becoming vegetarian in the last 50 years - especially by increasing the variety of products available.

"Our task must be to provide a total vegetarian solution: not just more fruit and vegetables, but more innovative products that offer customers choice and a sound nutritional balance.We predict that supermarkets will become much more like hubs of world foods, with flavours, smells and textures to tempt every taste bud."