Analysis of the WWF Is grilled meat too cheap?

Status: 06/18/2021 2:22 p.m.

At the beginning of the barbecue season, supermarkets attract with low meat prices. A study the environmental organization WWF shows that meat substitutes are much more expensive. That has consequences for the environment. In order to benefit from the current barbecue season, supermarkets lure customers with savings and discount offers on barbecue products. An analysis by the environmental protection organization WWF now shows that the majority of grilled meat in German supermarkets is much cheaper than meat substitute products. Between the end of April and the end of May, the WWF examined 922 grilled meat offers in the advertising brochures of eight German supermarket chains. On average, 85 percent of the discounted grilled meat was cheaper than vegetable alternatives. In addition, grilled meat products are advertised almost 30 times more often than meat substitute products. In addition, according to the analysis, very few products come from higher forms of husbandry. Only two percent of the discount products were of organic quality; for many, the origin was not even shown.

05/14/2021

Production of replacement products More and more meat without meat

Meat substitutes are becoming increasingly popular in Germany.

“Amazon is being sold off”

Tanja Dräger de Teran is a nutritionist at WWF. She criticizes the fact that the masses of cheap meat are at the expense of the environment. In order for meat to be sold so cheaply, cattle must be kept en masse and animal feed such as soy must be imported from South America. That heats up the climate and destroys valuable habitats: “The Amazon is sold off with cheap meat.” Around 96 percent of the soya-growing area would be needed for animal feed and only four percent for plant-based foods.

A study by the Federal Environment Agency (UBA) from 2020 also shows the significantly better ecological balance of plant products. Compared to beef, the production of vegetable substitute products would in some cases produce less than a tenth of the greenhouse gases. The water and land consumption is also many times lower, since plants such as wheat and soy are not only used as animal feed, but rather land directly on the plate, so to speak.

07/21/2020

Rising demand More appetite for meat substitutes

Germans are increasingly consuming vegetarian and vegan meat substitutes.

Reduce factory farming

UBA President Dirk Messner called for meat consumption to be halved in the newspapers of the Funke Mediengruppe a few weeks ago: “We have to reduce factory farming so that excessive nitrogen inputs are reduced and soils, water, biodiversity and human health are less polluted.” The World Health Organization (WHO) also warns against consuming too much meat.

Because in addition to the environmental aspects, according to experts, there are also health reasons for reducing meat consumption. For a healthy and sustainable diet, experts recommend not eating meat every day. An adult should not eat more than 300 to 600 grams of meat and sausage per week. That is significantly less than is generally consumed in this country.

08/07/2019

Animal welfare in farm animal husbandry Ministries against higher meat tax

The federal government has reacted cautiously to proposals to increase VAT on meat.

Still too much meat consumption

Although meat consumption in Germany tends to decline slowly, in 2020 it was still a little more than 57 kilos per person. In 2000, the annual consumption was over 61 kilos. However, according to the WWF, this is roughly double the consumption in the 1950s.

Messner had already stated in 2020: “As long as the price of the food does not also reflect the environmental damage, the cheap neck steak will be preferred to a soy schnitzel for a long time to come.”

High development costs for meat substitutes

There are reasons for the price differences: Antje Risius is researching sustainable eating styles at the University of Göttingen. She explains the striking price differences by the fact that meat is an established product on the market, while substitute products are still “newcomers”. “The meat market has an unbelievable competitive advantage because the structures are already established there. Production can take place at a completely different level, efficiently and structurally at very reasonable prices.”

#fact finder January 17, 2020

Animal Welfare and Climate Policy What is the fair price for meat?

The “cheap meat” debate continues. But it is difficult to put a fair price on it.

Because they are mostly still in the development phase, replacement products would still have relatively high investment costs. In addition, they are often very heavily processed – and the many intermediate processing steps are also expensive, says Risius.

Cheap meat and the social question

The WWF warns that the price imbalance between meat and meat substitute products is causing many people to resort to meat for reasons of cost. Dräger de Teran demands that sustainable nutrition should not remain a social issue. “We have to get to the point where the simple choice is the good, healthy and sustainable choice. And we are still a long way from that.”

background 02.03.2021

Value of meat Everyday food or luxury good?

Cheap offers from discounters often set the pace in the meat industry.

Almut Jering from the UBA has observed, however, that a growing range of meat and milk substitute products in supermarkets is attracting more and more people’s interest, despite the often higher prices. Recently, the number of people who followed a vegetarian or vegan diet has increased significantly. “I think there is some social progress going on.”

Meanwhile, the WWF sees politics and business as having a greater responsibility. The organization is demanding a steering tax based on sustainability criteria on food of animal origin from the next federal government, which is less of a burden on products from organic agriculture. Retailers need a change in pricing policy: For example, discounts should no longer be given on meat and sausage products, except shortly before the use-by date