Recent reports have highlighted how rising grocery prices are forcing families to cut back on fresh fruit and vegetables. However, new research suggests that households are buying less animal protein, instead switching to plant-based sources, cheaper alternatives or serving smaller portions.
That is according to a survey of 3,042 households commissioned by MarketBeat, a financial media company, which found that 67% have lowered the amount or type of meat, seafood or dairy they purchase because of rising grocery prices over the past 12 months. This means that 1,892,268 Tennessee households are cutting protein.
Animal protein sits at the center of both the household grocery budget and the wider consumer economy. Meat and seafood are among the more expensive essentials Americans purchase each week, meaning they are often among the first items to be swapped, stretched, downgraded or reduced when prices rise.
“For many people, meat and seafood have traditionally been treated as a basic part of the weekly grocery shopping, but these findings show that many households are now approaching it as an expense that must be carefully managed,” says Matt Paulson, founder of MarketBeat. “Families are doing more than changing brands. They are changing what they eat, how often they eat it and how much they put on the plate.”
Beef Is Taking the Biggest Hit
Beef is by far the protein source that Tennessee households have cut back on the most.
Among respondents, 43% identified beef as the main protein they had reduced, compared with 10% who selected fish or seafood and 8% who named chicken or turkey, followed by pork at 8% and dairy at 7%. The findings suggest that households are not abandoning animal protein altogether but are becoming more selective, particularly with higher-priced products such as beef and seafood.
Nearly half of respondents (47%) said their household had replaced beef with a vegetarian protein source, such as beans or lentils, because of price increases.
“Beef has become one of the first places families feel pressure in the protein budget,” Paulson says. “When prices rise, people reduce or replace. The fact that almost half have switched from beef to a vegetarian alternative shows how quickly an everyday purchase can become an occasional one.”
Meat-Free Meals Are Becoming a Money-Saving Strategy
Serving meals without meat or fish has become a regular cost-saving measure for many households in the Volunteer State.
More than half of respondents (51%) said their household now serves a meal without meat or fish at least twice a week, specifically to save money. This includes 10% who do so every day, 13% who serve meat-free or fish-free meals four to six times per week and 28% who do so two or three times per week.
A further 16% serve such a meal once per week, while 11% do so less frequently. Only 22% said they never serve a meal without meat or fish specifically for financial reasons.
The results suggest that what may once have been an occasional dietary choice is increasingly becoming a routine budgeting strategy.
“For many families, a meat-free meal is less about preference and more about making the grocery budget stretch,” Paulson continues. “When that happens several times a week, it starts to look like a real change in how people eat.”
Some Adults Are Giving Up Their Own Portions
The financial pressure surrounding meat and seafood is also affecting how food is divided within households. More than half of respondents (58%) said they had personally eaten a smaller portion or skipped a protein-rich food so their children or another household member could have more.
This finding illustrates that the protein squeeze is not simply changing shopping lists. In many households, it influences who eats what once the groceries reach the table.
Matt Paulson says: “This may be the most concerning finding in the survey. People are not only changing what they buy. Many are eating less themselves so someone else in the household can have more. That shows how much grocery prices are affecting everyday life around the family dinner table.”
Eggs Are the Most Common Budget Fallback
When Tennesseans need a more affordable protein alternative, eggs are the most popular option.
Almost one-quarter of respondents (24%) named eggs as their household’s main budget fallback. Processed meats such as hot dogs or deli meat followed at 13%, while 12% selected beans.
Canned tuna or other canned fish was chosen by 9%, followed by peanut butter at 8%, dairy products at 4%, protein powder at 3%, and lentils at 2%.
Another 24% said their household did not have a regular budget to fall back on.
“Households are becoming increasingly resourceful,” Paulson says. “Eggs, beans, canned fish and peanut butter can all help stretch a budget, but the need for a regular backup plan also shows that many families can no longer rely on buying their preferred protein from one week to the next.”
Weekly Discounts Are Dictating What Families Eat
For many Tennessee parents, the decision over what protein to purchase is now driven primarily by supermarket promotions rather than personal preference or meal planning.
Seven in ten parents (70%) said they now decide what protein to buy mainly based on what is discounted that week.
This reliance on promotions may help households maintain some variety, but it also suggests that consumers are becoming more exposed to changing prices and less able to purchase the same foods consistently. As households move between discounted cuts of meat, canned foods, eggs and plant-based alternatives, protein choices are increasingly being determined in the grocery aisle rather than before the shopping trip begins.
“Weekly sales are having a bigger influence on what families put on the table,” Paulson adds. “More people are planning meals around what is affordable instead of what they would normally prefer to eat. That is a pretty clear sign that household budgets are getting tighter.”
Animal Protein Is Starting to Feel Like a Luxury
Two-thirds of respondents (67%) said rising prices had made meat, seafood and dairy feel more like a luxury than a basic grocery item.
The finding reflects how foods traditionally seen as everyday staples can gradually become discretionary purchases when household budgets are stretched. Rather than asking which meat, fish or dairy product they prefer, many shoppers are now asking whether they can afford to include it at all.
The strain is also reaching beyond shopping decisions. Nearly one-third of respondents, 32%, said disagreements about grocery spending had increased within their household because of the cost of meat, fish and dairy.
