How are consumer choices affecting the meat market in the UK today?
Figure 1 shows how beef production has seen a significant increase in the UK between 1997 and 2017. As seen in figure 2 there is also an increase in consumption of beef approximately equivalent to 200 000 tonnes/year. Consumption levels have not however reached the pre 2008 financial crash values, but appear in an upwards trajectory. The latest UK Cattle Yearbook from the Agriculture and Horticulture Development Board shows that sale of burgers and steaks has fallen by 4.7% and 6.5% respectively this year, and net consumption has fallen slightly.
Figure 2 shows that poultry and pork remains the UK's popular choice. Poultry consumption has increased by around one million tonnes between 1997 and 2017. Beef has seen significant scrutiny for health and environmental reasons over the last decade - environmental costs of producing and consuming vast quantities of pigs and poultry is an issue that doesn't receive as much focus. I will be exploring this in a future post.
Table 1 shows that the meat industry is relatively better in terms of self-sufficiency levels, fluctuating around the 70% mark in comparison to a 61% average across the industry.
As mentioned, beef production has experienced significant scrutiny of late. Looking at table 2 you will see that the vast majority of the beef products we export goes to the EU, 87%. So, with Brexit looming, and indeed a potential No Deal, we could be seeing a huge disruption to the industry. Negotiations with the Irish Republic are of particular concern as they make up 32% of our beef export market.
With increasing numbers of reports from scientists calling for global reduction in beef consumption, the way UK countryside is farmed could in the future look very different. Mintel consultancy figures show that the UK market for alternative meats has grown by 34% in five years, to a value of £740 million. Between 2014 and 2017 the percentage share of meat products being brought from hard discounters (e.g. Aldi and Lidl) increased by 5%. AHDB speculates that UK trends might see a trajectory similar to many EU countries- in Germany Aldi and Lidl account for 37% of the grocery market. The issue with this is that in order to be able to sell meat, and indeed other groceries, at lower prices, they have incredibly small margins. So, for the model to work, they pay less for the produce and hence it is the farmer who losses out. The system is relying on cheap and high quantity produce. So even though British beef can have up to half the carbon footprint due to grass grazing models, the price farmers will get paid makes that unsustainable. And so, as revealed by the Guardian and the Bureau for Investigative Journalism, several Concentrated Animal Feeding Operations, similar to those across North America, are appearing in the UK. These systems are based upon quantity over quality, they push small scale farmers further towards economic collapse, promote consumer habits of eating large quantities of low-cost meat with associated negative environmental and health impacts and have significant animal welfare concerns.
It's not realistic or morally right to think that everyone should become vegan. Instead we should exercise our right to choice. And that choice might mean not following market trends of dwindling meat prices but rather making the choice to not fuel blinded consumption and destruction of our planet. We need to slow down and reconnect with where our food comes from. Ask questions. And make our own choices. Not just think we have choice because that is what mass consumerism wants us to believe.