2026/06/08 by Nicole Neufingerl, Ans Eilander, Anne J. Wanders · 1 voice
Environmental Science · Agricultural and Biological Sciences · #Agriculture Sustainability and Environmental Impact #Organic Food and Agriculture #Food Waste Reduction and Sustainability
paper · doi:10.1016/j.nfs.2026.100278
Dietary modelling studies suggest that replacing animal meat with plant-based meat (PBM) may enhance diet quality, yet empirical data on the diet quality of PBM consumers remains limited. This study aimed to fill this gap by investigating diet quality of PBM consumers versus non-PBM consumers using real-life consumption data of adults (18–69 y) from the Dutch National Food Consumption Survey (2019–2021). Nutrient intakes were expressed as percentages of dietary reference values (DRV), and probability of adequate nutrient intake was assessed using the PANDiet score. We used non-parametric Mann Whitney U tests to investigate differences in food and nutrient intakes and PANDiet scores between PBM consumers ( n = 104) and non-PBM consumers ( n = 1312). Multiple regression analyses were conducted to assess PBM consumption as independent predictor of dietary intakes beyond demographic and lifestyle factors. PBM consumers ate significantly more fruit (median (interquartile range) intake: 164 (104; 266) vs 114 (34; 203) g/d, p < 0.001), vegetables (175 (112; 296) vs 143 (87; 210) g/d, p = 0.002), and nuts & seeds (7 (0; 25) vs 0 (0; 15) g/d, p = 0.004), but less meat (0 (0; 38) vs 84 (45; 126) g/d, p < 0.001) than non-PBM consumers. The PANDiet score of PBM consumers was higher (67 (63; 71) vs 62 (58; 67), p < 0.001), reflecting more favorable intakes of fiber, saturated fat, linoleic acid, vitamins E and K1, folate equivalents, iron, magnesium and copper (all p < 0.002), while protein and sodium intakes did not differ ( p > 0.05). Regression analyses confirmed that PBM consumption was independently associated with more favorable nutrient intakes. Overall, these empirical data show that Dutch PBM consumers had a better diet quality than non-PBM consumers and support the beneficial role of PBM replacing animal meat in a balanced and more plant-based diet.