73% of omnivore and flexetarian users eat less meat after using the free Fork Ranger app
According to new research by Jack Ferris, a master’s student in Sustainability and Adaptation, 73% of omnivore and flexitarian users reported eating less meat after using the Fork Ranger app. The secret? Small steps, no judgment, and a focus on progress over perfection.
Daily quiz questions that unlock recipes
In the Fork Ranger app, users get a daily quiz question about sustainable food. The answer is explained with an eye-catching infographic and as a reward the user receives a recipe to put their new knowledge into action. The app invites users to learn about sustainable food choices at their own pace.
Most people using the Fork Ranger app are omnivores or flexitarians
While many users are vegan or vegetarian, Jack’s research found that the majority of the Fork Ranger app users are omnivores (33,3%) and flexitarians (35,6%).
Fork Ranger’s co-founder Frank: “This is great news! While eating more sustainably doesn’t require you to become a vegan or even vegetarian, we think it shows that we are able to create an open space where we talk about what we eat and its impact without judgement. Both omnivores and vegans enjoy using the app. That said, we are most happy about the omnivores, because we created Fork Ranger primarily to help them eat more sustainably.”
An astonishing 73% of them report eating more sustainably
While some of the people using the Fork Ranger app already eat sustainably at the start, the people who started out as omnivores and flexitarians reported the most changes. More than 70% of them reported eating less meat after using the Fork Ranger app. So what’s the trick? Why does the Fork Ranger app work so well in actually helping people change? We can sum it up as: give people time and focus on small steps.
Small steps are the way to go
The majority of changes reported by people where small changes, as you can see in the figure below. None of the respondents went from omnivore to vegan overnight. Most of them went to eating a little less meat, taking a simple small step.
Frank: “Small changes are easier. And once you’ve made them you feel empowered and motivated to continue. It’s more important that people make long-lasting small changes than try to set an ambitious goal that they achieve for one month but then becomes too difficult to sustain in the long run. A lot of our users tell us how relieved they are that we are not asking them to go vegan. They mention this would be a step too far for them but they are ready to reduce their meat (and dairy) consumption.”
Just keep going, even though it’s not perfect
Do you know that feeling when you’ve missed a day of something you want to do on a daily basis? It can be easy to think you can’t do it and simply give up. What’s interesting is that the research implies that not the frequency (using the Fork Ranger app daily or not) but how long people use the app is the key factor that determines whether people succeed in making changes to what they eat. People who use the app one month or more are more likely than not to make changes than people who use the app for a shorter time.
The Fork Ranger app is designed in a way that if you miss a day, it will come back to you at another time, so nothing is lost forever. Frank: “There’s no need for people to pressure themselves unnecessarily. Rather than making it your new goal to use the Fork Ranger app every day, it’s more important to simply get started and explore at your own speed.”
Extra help with eating less meat: Start Cooking! Bootcamp
Fork Ranger also organizes a new edition of their Start Cooking! Bootcamp in February 2025 where you join a group of people all sharing the desire to eat more plant-rich. They’ve also included a session with a nutritionist so that you’ve got the chance to ask all health-related questions that might hold people back from eating more plants and less meat (& dairy).
Do you want to write about this?
You can find the full study here and a presentation-version of the results which Jack made for the Fork Ranger team here.
We are happy to get to know you in a personal call and share more about our insights of hurdles to eat more sustainably, what is needed, and how through Fork Ranger everyone can make a difference!
For more information contact frank@forkranger.com (+ 31 6 30 87 30 25) or mareike@forkranger.com (+31 6 57 26 57 52).
Who is Fork Ranger?
We translate climate sience to stories and recipes so everyone can become part of the solving climate change. It started when Frank wrote the Fork Ranger book. Mareike joined him to develop the Fork Ranger app and lots of enthousiasts have joined the team on a voluntary basis to make sure all aspects (recipes, climate science and a visually appealing app) come together! Read more here.
