IN simpler times there were vegetarians and vegans, who swore by lentil burgers for robust health and, on the other side, the confirmed meat-eaters. But a proliferation of health reports over the years has given rise to a new breed of health-conscious eaters, nicknamed the meat reducers. They're not quite ready to eschew meat but are cutting back because of fears that it might lead to diseases such as cancer.

A major health report published last October by the World Cancer Research Fund (WCRF) ramped up the fear over red meat in particular when it confirmed a link between eating red meat, particularly processed meat, and bowel cancer, which is common in Scotland.

This comprehensive report on the link between diet and cancer recommended a small amount of red meat could be eaten every other day, (amounting to 500g of cooked red meat a week), with as little processed meat, such as bacon, sausages and salami, as possible, if any. It found that just 50g of processed meat (such as three rashers of bacon) daily could increase the risk of bowel cancer by 20%.

Marks & Spencer, which prides itself on being at the cutting-edge of food trends, used a recent study by market researchers TNS to identify this emerging group of meat reducers and created a new range of dishes that will appeal to vegetarians and to those who want to replace some of their meat meals each week with something nourishing and a bit more adventurous than cauliflower cheese. The new range features choices such as artichoke and edamame bean risotto and Moroccan feta and couscous pancakes. The TNS research also showed that vegetarianism is on the rise, with items such as tofu and soya showing a sales increase of 5% last year.

A spokeswoman for Marks & Spencer said: "People tend to use quite traditional ingredients and flavours in vegetarian food and don't vary it. We wanted to go beyond that and reflect people's changing tastes, and the fact they also want to experience food from around the globe."

There is little doubt that the WCRF report will have been the last straw for many meat-eaters, convincing them that less is probably wiser. And it's a belief that sits well with environmentalists, animal rights activists and, increasingly, with younger people who have grown up listening to arguments over food.

Philip Ross, 24, is typical of this breed of meat reducer. Although not a vegetarian, he has a passion for non-meat dishes that came about accidentally, but which has for him, made more health sense.

Ross, from Glasgow, says that despite his mother being a home economics teacher who believed in a balanced diet, he was no great lover of vegetables as a child.

"I had it drilled into my head when I was young about the value of five fruit and veg a day and a balanced intake of carbs, meat and fish, but my brother and I were stubborn about veggies and my mother used to cut them up small and hide them in our food," he says.

When he moved to a flat with friends while at university, Ross says he typically lived on a lot of fast food and meat dishes, and might have continued in that vein had it not been for a six-month work placement in China with a US product development company. There he discovered the joy of vegetables, more out of necessity than choice.

When visiting local restaurants with his Chinese colleagues, he was faced with some horrendous dishes. "I never knew what was placed in front of me. It seemed like Russian roulette. The only thing I ever refused to eat was cold chicken feet."

But when he prepared meals in his apartment, he cooked mostly vegetables. "It was easier to get really fresh, exotic kinds of vegetables in China but you didn't have the same assurances about meat. I enjoyed stir-frying vegetables and adding different oils and flavourings."

Since returning to Scotland, Ross - who is the co-inventor of a child-friendly door hinge which he developed with a friend at Glasgow School of Art - has a passion for vegetable stir-fries. "There have been so many messages in the media about healthy eating and I think it is better to cut back on red meat and have a more balanced diet. In fact, though I'm definitely not a vegetarian, I can't remember the last time I ate red meat."

Helena Buckley, who works at Forth Valley NHS, grows her own vegetables and keeps chickens on her Stirlingshire property. She says she eats red meat mainly at the weekend, but thinks the issue is not in consuming less but eating better quality meat, reared locally.

"We eat a lot of game and organic meat," she says, "and I'm a lot more concerned with the welfare of the animals beforehand. I'd never go out and buy something like a beef burger because I wouldn't know what was in it and where the meat came from."

But as the trend for reducing red meat takes hold, wouldn't it be easier to cut it out altogether and join the vegetarian lobby? Annie Anderson, professor of nutrition at the University of Dundee, says we shouldn't panic over the WCRF report findings on red meat because what it means is that, for the first time, people have some guidance on the issue.

"A lot of people welcomed the report," she says. "They have been wary about (red) meat but now they know they have to cut out processed meat as much as they can, and when it comes to red meat keep it to a low consumption. But you don't need to cut red meat from your diet."

Professor Anderson adds that eating red meat has many positive aspects. "Meat is a good source of iron that can be readily absorbed. We find iron in a lot of foods in the diet but it's quite difficult to absorb and we do have a fairly major problem with anaemia in this country. Red meat contains a range of nutrients."

While vegetarianism may seem more appealing now than it has been for years, Anderson says it's not "the magic bullet for health". "You could be healthier perhaps if you're a vegetarian but it depends on what else you are doing with your life. If you smoked and drank too much, and you were overweight, then no.

"However, if you were a meat-eater who ate high amounts of vegetables, wholegrains, fibres and a wee bit of meat and fish a couple of times a week, that may well be healthier than being a vegetarian."