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Substitutes are on the rise, but meat is here to stay
by Goo Media
Consumption and production changes present new opportunities Substitutes are on the rise, but meat is here to stay
The demand for meat substitutes is growing. More and more consumers are buying soy, legumes and other alternatives to meat. Technological developments are ongoing, with new food products that can compete with meat both in terms of taste and texture. Is there still a future for livestock farming?
Parallel to the growing demand for substitutes, research studies by the Voedingscentrum, the Dutch nutrition centre that keeps track of all developments related to nutrition, show that meat consumption has fallen in recent years. “We are seeing a declining trend since 2010,” says expert in nutrition and sustainability Corné van Dooren. He does stress, however, that we should put this development in the proper perspective. “The demand for alternatives is increasing, but at the same time we need to realize that it is tsill a proportionally small market share.”
Meat substitutes come in all shapes and sizes. “The first foods we should think of are mainly vegetable products,” Van Dooren explains. “These include eggs, nuts, legumes and soya, such as tofu and tempeh, plus their derivatives like humus. Then we also have the industrial products, which include imitation meat with structured protein. All these foodstuffs, along with meat, are listed in the various nutritional guides, as long as they contain sufficient protein, iron and B vitamins and not too much saturated fat and salt.”
Health risks In recent years, meat has regularly come under fire in the news because of the health risks that are possibly associated with eating it. “Lean meat still fits perfectly well into a healthy diet,” assures Van Dooren. “We advise to eat no more than 500 grams of meat a week and to avoid processed and red meat as much as possible. Meat substitutes can be a healthy alternative, but it’s important to look carefully at the ingredients beforehand. Many meat substitutes contain too much salt.”
Every five years, the RIVM (Dutch Institute for Public Health and the Environment) measures the food trends among consumers. This was last done was in 2016. “That survey showed that the meat consumption had fallen by 8 percent compared to the previous poll,” says Van Dooren. “With meat substitutes, we saw consumption grow by around 20 percent. That’s still only a small segment in absolute numbers (see table, ed.).”
The growth in popularity of meat substitutes can be explained by people’s increased awareness of healthy nutrition, animal welfare and climate issues. This awareness is partly the reason that the development of meat substitutes is in full swing. “The technology for structuring protein and imitating the fibrous nature of meat has improved. Moreover, lupin is used more often as a protein source. We are also seeing more research in and marketing of all kinds of alternatives, including duckweed, insects, algae and cultured meat.”
Investing These developments are also finding support from seemingly unexpected quarters. “Major meat companies like VION are investing heavily in meat substitutes,” says Van Dooren. “The market sees it as an opportunity. This is also apparent from the fact that Unilever recently acquired De Vegetarische Slager [The Vegetarian Butcher].” In that sense, Van Dooren also sees ample scope for the agricultural sector. “The Ministry of Agriculture recently launched a protein strategy, which is aimed at sourcing more protein closer to home and producing more soy and other protein crops in the Netherlands. The government subsidises all kinds of initiatives in the field of innovation. This is where there are opportunities. You could cultivate algae or farm fish in large basins using high-quality methods, just to give a few examples. As far as legumes are concerned, the Dutch already have a long tradition with brown beans. New varieties such as kidney beans will be added over time.”
The consumption of meat in the Netherlands doubled in the period from the Second World War to 2010. “You might think that the downward trend since then will be an economic blow, but that doesn’t need to be the case,” Van Dooren expects. “There will always be demand for meat. I do expect cattle farming to become more extensive, though. This means that production and consumption will decline, but that the meat will have more value, both for the consumer and the producer. In time we will eat less meat, but it will be of better quality. It obviously has to be economically viable. A ban on slashing the meat prices in supermarkets is one of the developments that might help make this happen.” Van Dooren observes that this trend has been going on for some time. “More and more sustainable concepts are emerging. One example is Kipster, where the focus is on animal welfare and on a closed loop.”
Van Dooren is clear about the future of meat. “We’ve seen meat consumption double in half a century. So you can safely assume that halving that consumption will take another half century. Van Dooren points towards the still relatively small share of vegans and vegetarians in Dutch society. “Less than 5 percent of the population is currently vegetarian or vegan. Although that number is growing, it will remain a marginal group. The number of flexitarians, i.e. people who no longer eat meat every day out of habit, is increasing strongly.” If we look at technological advances, Van Dooren sees a challenge for producers of meat substitutes. “The trick is to create products that are innovative in terms of taste and structure. That makes the meat replacement no longer an imitation, but just better than the original.”
Food consumption survey (2016)
The Dutch population eats on average per day: 347 grams of dairy products 104 grams of meat products 17 grams of fish & shellfish 13 grams of eggs 5.7 grams of nuts 5 grams of legumes 1.5 grams of meat substitutes
Corné van Dooren
