Breakfast often flies under the radar in climate change discussions. Among those aware of meals' environmental footprint, just 1 in 10 prioritize breakfast. Women, in particular, value low-climate-impact foods and seek to cut animal products more frequently—yet they adjust breakfast habits more for dietary reasons than climate concerns. These insights come from Oatly, the world's leading oat drink producer, based on a survey of over 1,000 Dutch breakfast eaters.
The study reveals that over 40% of Dutch people remain unaware of their meals' climate effects across all eating occasions. For the aware minority, dinner tops the list at 60%, while breakfast lags far behind at just 10%.
Encouragingly, more than one in three respondents are open to changing habits for climate benefits—a promising foundation, per Oatly. Women show stronger intent: 34% versus 28% of men would tweak breakfast choices for lower impact; 41% versus 34% deem climate-friendly eating important; and 44% versus 35% aim to reduce animal products.
Oatly's findings highlight stagnant breakfast trends over five years: dairy and egg consumption holds steady. Four in five enjoy dairy weekly at breakfast, over a third daily.
