Swiss consume 8.5 times more meat than recommended

People in Switzerland consume significantly more meat and dairy products than recommended by the Planetary Health Diet. According to the study, meat consumption, excluding poultry, reached 850% of the recommended level, while dairy consumption stood at 363%.

At the same time, consumption of plant-based foods remained far below recommended levels. Swiss consumers ate only 4% of the recommended amount of pulses and 39% of the recommended amount of unsaturated oils.

Grain consumption was closest to the recommendations at 96% of the target level. Fish and seafood consumption stood at 103%, broadly in line with the recommended amount.

The study also found that women generally followed diets with a higher share of plant-based foods than men. The authors said increasing the share of plant-based foods could benefit both health and environmental sustainability.

However, the results are based on the national menuCH survey conducted in 2014–2015 among 2,057 adults aged 16 to 75. The authors therefore noted that the data may not fully reflect Swiss dietary habits in 2026.

Tags: meat, Switzerland, dairy products