Meat survey: consumers opt for price over planet
In an online survey carried out last month by YouGov on behalf of meat industry bodies EBLEX and BPEX, respondents put low price above considerations of red meat's widely-reported high contribution to greenhouse gas emissions.
Almost half of the 2,000 adults surveyed said they would by more likely to buy meat that is on promotion and cheaper. This contrasts with just 9% that would opt for meat that had a lower carbon footprint but was more expensive.
Reporting the findings to the BPEX/EBLEX Outlook conference in London yesterday, Richard Lowe, interim Agriculture and Horticulture Development Board (AHDB) chief executive, said that while there were more believers about climate change than sceptics among the respondents, there was little evidence so far that this was affecting their purchasing behaviours as far as meat was concerned.
"The [environmental] impact of meat consumption is off the radar for most," said Lowe.
However, consumers were concerned about whether their meat was produced in a welfare-friendly manner and was British rather than imported, he added.
Lowe said BPEX/EBLEX planned to repeat the survey on a monthly-basis over the next few years to detect any changes to perception about meat consumption and its damage to the global environment.
Challenging targets
Despite these findings, consumers would need to be encouraged to reduce their consumption of meat if the UK is to meet its challenging target of reducing greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions by 80% by 2050, claimed Mark Driscoll, head of sustainable consumption policy at the World Wildlife Fund, speaking at the same event.
To achieve this figure, food-related emissions need to be cut by 70% by 2050, said Driscoll. He added that this could not be achieved by efficiency improvements alone. Behavioural as well as technological change would also be necessary, he said.
"It is clear that this cannot be done in the current policy context. But, it's not just about reducing the amount of meat a day we eat; it's not a black and white debate; livestock has many [ecological, economic and societal] benefits."
He argued that consumers should be encouraged to eat less, but better quality meat, for which they paid "a fair price".
"We would like to continue working with producer organisations on a number of issues," he added. "I believe we should work more closely together as a number of the problems are systemic."
EBLEX and BPEX are now part of the AHDB and represent beef, lamb and pig producers.
