The NFU has reported that farmers have lost £170 million over the last 12 months as beef prices continue to drop, but supermarket prices have not seen a similar reduction. So, what's going on? And what are the possible environmental implications?
Farm gate figures have taken such a hit (an estimated 11%) over the last year that last month parliament began an inquiry into the beef price crisis. Neil Parish was the chair of a cross-party select committee which heard evidence of a less than 1% decrease in retail prices during the same period.
So, is it that beef consumption is just falling in line with growing trends for and promotion of a plant-based diet? The committee heard evidence that supermarkets were placing less focus on marketing their meat products and greater focus on meat alternatives. It's hardly surprising... supermarkets seeing a growing market and cottoning on to it. But whether or not we, as the public, are choosing to eat less meat or are being encouraged to by supermarket advertising, that is not the whole story.
Tesco's new advert promoting a plant-based alternative to meat sparked outrage amongst farmers and was 'objected' to by the NFU after it 'demonised' meat consumption.
Processors and retailers are taking an unfair share of the price and the system is therefore continuing to promote high quantity and low-quality production of meat. The fact that supermarkets support this model only further illustrates that 'environmentally friendly' actions, like promoting plant-based diets, wouldn't be taken in the absence of an economic driver.
So, whilst on average UK beef has half the associated emissions of global averages, how we consume meat promotes the production of ever cheaper products. It is hardly surprising that the CAFOs mentioned in an earlier post are appearing in the UK. Our beef market is competing with cheap imports and the average consumer is not willing to pay a premium for traceable and quality beef with a good animal welfare record meaning there is little prospect of change.
Not all beef is the same. The suckler beef system is more efficient and kinder to the environment. This system keeps calves on their mothers for longer and is fuelled by a grass-based system. It produces a smaller yield and is a slower form of production. It however takes less from the environment and is more sustainable in the long term. Meat sold in supermarkets however shows no product differentiation so essentially all British beef is sold the same. Hence even the conscious consumer can believe they are making the environmentally friendly choice by buying British but they may actually be buying meat which has been grain fed and fattened in a highly intensive system. Retailers including Co-op, Lidl and Waitrose are known to source a proportion of their beef products from CAFOs.
Whilst some UK beef farmers are outraged by being all tarnished with the same brush in light of recent environmental concerns over beef production, we cannot simply say that buying British makes it environmentally sound to consume beef.
Poore and Nemecek's recent article in Science, 'Reducing food’s environmental impacts through producers and consumers', has largely condemned the beef consumption in terms of its environmental impacts. They argue that beef production is having irreversible negative impacts on the environment due to methane and nitrous oxide production and deforestation. Clearance for pasture and crop production for feed is not only leading to habitat loss but also the loss of important carbon stores. Poore appeared on Countryfile this weekend saying that the main reason why beef production in the UK has a lower associated carbon footprint is because we cleared our forests so long ago. So, is it fair that we in the UK can eat our UK beef with less 'guilt' just because we cut down our forests long before swathes of the Amazon were cleared for beef production in Brazil, for example?
And then there's the question, with the growing trend for meat alternatives, often made of soya proteins, what will be the environmental cost of a growing demand for soya?
What good could come from this crisis is that we start to think about how much we are willing to pay for good levels of animal welfare and meat produced at the least possible environmental cost. Most importantly it's about being conscious, and aware. Being a conscious vegan is quite different to just adopting a vegan diet. And maybe, being a conscious meat eater could have similar environmental benefits?