Finland has been ranked third in a global meat-eating table, with only fellow Scandinavians Iceland and Denmark ahead of them.
The global comparison, which was released by Aalto University and based on data from 2005, showed that Finns get more than a third of their nutrition from meat or animal-based products.
Their high consumption of dairy products was one of the reasons the people of Finland was ranked so highly. The university’s Miina Porkka explained that dairy product consumption makes up the largest portion of animal products Finns consume. She added that pork products are second on the list, and pointed out that dietary choices are made for a number of cultural reasons.
Finns consumed an average of about 1,200 kilocalories a day from animal products. Roughly 50 per cent of that was from milk products, while almost a third came from pork products such as bacon.
The university’s research compared consumption trends from 1965 to 2005. Researchers found that “heavy consumers of animal products” (people who get over 15 per cent of their total calorie intake from animal products) now account for over half of Finland’s population – up from 33 per cent in 1965.
They claimed international trade was the reason behind the improved diets. Porkka explained that during the 60s and 70s, if not enough food was being produced in a country there would be a food shortage; however, these days if there is a similar scenario it can be made up for with imports.