Could veg be replacing the British love of the banger?

We're a nation known for our love of the Sunday roast and bangers and mash. But that could all be about to change, if a new survey on food habits is anything to go by.

In a poll of more than 2,000 adults carried out by Redshift Research for Alpro, four in 10 Brits are eating more vegetables, fruits and plant-based foods.

And six out of 10 of us are eating more of these types of foods than we were five years ago.

This trend can be found across the age groups but it is being fuelled particularly by 18 to 30-year-olds, who are exploring more with healthy eating options and changes to their diets.

More than half of the 18 to 30-year-olds surveyed said they had added more vegetables, fruits and plant-based foods into their diets in the last year.

Alpro, a health foods manufacturer, believes the findings point to a major change in the UK’s dietary habits for the first time in generations.

Across all age categories, one in five agreed that they ate meat and dairy-based foods merely ‘out of habit’.

The change is believed to be down to considerations about health as well as concerns about the environmental impact of the production process for meat and dairy-based goods.

While one pound of meat takes more than 2,400 gallons of water to produce, an average of only 25 gallons of water is needed to produce a pound of plant-based food.

The survey found that four out of 10 people had committed to cutting down the amount of meat and dairy products in their current diets.

"Giving up meat and dairy completely isn’t essential," said an Alpro spokesperson. "Even cutting down on half your intake will make a considerable impact on your health and the environment."