BBC Good Food’s national survey has revealed over 20% of children are already vegan or would like to be, with a further 21% saying they would like to be vegetarian.
The BBC Good Food Nation survey asked 1,000 children aged between 5-16 about their attitudes to food, cooking and eating.
The survey found 8% of children are already following a vegan diet with an additional 15% saying they want to. Over one in ten (13%) of children are vegetarian and 21% of children who are not currently vegetarian would like to be.
Almost three-quarters of children (73%) said they would like to try different kinds of foods and would like to cook more (74%) and bake more (77%) at home.
Christine Hayes, Editor of BBC Good Food, said: “It was fascinating to survey children’s eating habits, behaviours and opinions around food. The findings are revelatory and show that far from being fussy eaters, children want to take over the nation’s kitchens – baking and preparing meals, trying different kinds of foods.
“They are passionate about exploring alternative diets and methods of food production that could be more sustainable for the planet. However, they lack kitchen skills and food preparation experience in some areas which BBC Good Food will address in the coming months with a fun and practical learning programme.”
Around 44% of children surveyed said they would like there to be no plastic packaging on food in ten years’ time, however only 37% think this will happen.
A quarter (25%) of children surveyed said they would like to see food delivered by drones in ten years’ time with the same percentage of children thinking this will happen.
When surveyed about food in the future, 7% of children would like there to be an insect-based diet in ten years’ time, and the same number think this will be the case.
How children reclaimed the kitchen during the pandemic:
- Did some baking (59%)
- Made their own breakfast (50%)
- Made their own lunch (46%)
- Cooked more with their parents (36%)
- Made their own dinner (25%)
- Watched online cooking tutorials/videos (22%)
- Cooked a meal for their family (22%)
- Tried a new cuisine (19%)
- Ate less meat and more plant based (10%)
- Cooked with family/friends on video call (9%)