Why are Consumers Buying Fewer Meat Alternatives?

Jamie in Chile said:
We need to campaign to stop public money going to meat. Just make sure it doesn't alienate by coming across as anti-meat or a campaign that only vegans would support.
Click to expand...
Yeah, it would have to be packaged very carefully. Perhaps as a tax cut. and maybe the elimination of subsidies could be seen as some kind of Pro- equity strategy. Like less tax breaks and less subsidies to mega corporations (big food).

US Congress started down this road in what I think was 2019, and the Green New Deal. The Republicans went nuts. Headlines started showing up like this one:

www.marketwatch.com

Ocasio-Cortez, like Stalin, is coming for your burgers, former Trump aide warns

Threatening to take away a Californian’s In-N-Out burger? That’s the kind of thing that could change minds, sway elections and maybe even turn a blue state red.
www.marketwatch.com www.marketwatch.com

Actually the Green New Deal doesn't mention hamburgers. Or even cows. It does say, “working collaboratively with farmers and ranchers in the United States to remove pollution and greenhouse gas emissions from the agricultural sector as much as is technologically feasible.”

And if you squint and read between the lines you can see that means less cows and less burgers.
 
Lou said:
There are probably other threads that are a better fit for this story - but this thread has been pretty active and interesting so far so I thought this article would get the attention it deserves here.

The “gigantic” power of the meat and dairy industries in the EU and US is blocking the development of the greener alternatives needed to tackle the climate crisis, a study has found.​
​
The analysis of lobbying, subsidies and regulations showed that livestock farmers in the EU received 1,200 times more public funding than plant-based meat or cultivated meat groups. In the US, the animal farmers got 800 times more public funding.​


Click to expand...


I think the animal agriculture power is declining. I am in a dairy state, and dairy farms are going bankrupt all over the place. Ranchers are selling off their herds, and getting out of the business.

When I go into the milk section, the plant milk section is three times the size of the dairy milk section. The dairy section is always full, while the plant milks are picked over.

I keep hearing how Impossible and Beyond have declining sales, but is the entire alt meat sector staying stable or growing?

The answer might be that individual company's sales are declining because of increased competition, but the overall alt meat market doing fine.

There are so many choices these days, that most people don't have to stay brand loyal.
 
LoreD said:
I think the animal agriculture power is declining. I am in a dairy state, and dairy farms are going bankrupt all over the place. Ranchers are selling off their herds, and getting out of the business.
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I am in a Dairy State too. But I think Your view might be skewed cause you live in Wisconsin and not California. Yes it's true that dairy farms are going out of business but that does not tell the whole story.

The US procuces more milk per year than it did 20 years ago. And it does that will a lot less cows, farms and farmers. One consideration is that that today's cow produces a lot more milk that a 20th century cow. Also there are just a lot less small dairy farms. And. a lot more large dairy farms.
LoreD said:
When I go into the milk section, the plant milk section is three times the size of the dairy milk section. The dairy section is always full, while the plant milks are picked over.
Click to expand...
I do agree that today's plant milk section is Much bigger than it was 20 years ago. And retail milk sales have declined in the last 20 years too. From 53 to 40 billion pounds. And although sometimes dairy farmers have to destroy milk in order to keep prices up, most of that decrease in retail sales is going into other products. In fact, Wisconsin is sort of the leader in innovation, with a University research department that is finding novel uses for milk.

I don't have exact numbers but for every gallon of plant milk sold, there is about 15 gallons of cow's milk sold.

LoreD said:
I keep hearing how Impossible and Beyond have declining sales, but is the entire alt meat sector staying stable or growing?
Click to expand...

After a few years of amazing growth its stable and decreasing slightly


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Lou said:
I am in a Dairy State too. But I think Your view might be skewed cause you live in Wisconsin and not California. Yes it's true that dairy farms are going out of business but that does not tell the whole story.

The US procuces more milk per year than it did 20 years ago. And it does that will a lot less cows, farms and farmers. One consideration is that that today's cow produces a lot more milk that a 20th century cow. Also there are just a lot less small dairy farms. And. a lot more large dairy farms.

I do agree that today's plant milk section is Much bigger than it was 20 years ago. And retail milk sales have declined in the last 20 years too. From 53 to 40 billion pounds. And although sometimes dairy farmers have to destroy milk in order to keep prices up, most of that decrease in retail sales is going into other products. In fact, Wisconsin is sort of the leader in innovation, with a University research department that is finding novel uses for milk.

I don't have exact numbers but for every gallon of plant milk sold, there is about 15 gallons of cow's milk sold.



After a few years of amazing growth its stable and decreasing slightly


-----------------------





Click to expand...


A lot of that might be milk exports. 16% of U.S. milk is for export


Despite the logistical challenges posed by the COVID-19 pandemic, U.S. dairy exports soared in 2021, growing by 19 percent to reach a record $7.7 billion. This will be the fifth consecutive year that U.S. dairy exports have grown, reflecting an annual average growth rate of 9 percent since 2017.

Mexico remains the leading market for U.S. dairy products accounting for nearly a quarter of all exports. After a disappointing year in 2020, shipments to Mexico rebounded strongly by 28 percent, led by sales of skimmed milk powder (SMP) and cheese. Strong sales were also posted to Canada and China, which had year-over-year gains of 16 percent and 38 percent, respectively. Most shipments to Canada consisted of highly processed dairy products, such as infant formula and milk-based drinks, while exports to China were comprised mostly of SMP, whey, and whey products. U.S. dairy exports also registered notable gains in established markets such Japan and South Korea and newer markets in Southeast Asia such as Vietnam.
 
Expletive Deleted

Personally, I thought we had gotten away from vegan hate.
according to this article, plant based meat sales have gone down because of something like that.
That sales are down because plant-based meats claim to be good for the environment which is too left wing a concept.
I don't know how that can explain the downward trend of sales. If it's too left wing now - what was it before?
Although maybe the current divisiveness of the Right has something to do with it. They just like to hate things.

"A different survey shows that more than half (53%) of US consumers who have not bought or tried plant-based meat may be reluctant to buy a product they view as “woke”.

theconversation.com

Plant-based meat sales are stagnating – our research suggests playing down its green benefits could attract more consumers

US study shows environmental messages can put conservative consumers off trying and buying plant-based products.
theconversation.com theconversation.com
 
In Germany sales simply seem to have gone down because that stuff is still too expensive compared to meat products. As long as the plant-based alternatives are more expensive than the meat products this is not going to change.
 
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Mufflon said:
In Germany sales simply seem to have gone down because that stuff is still too expensive compared to meat products. As long as the plant-based alternatives are more expensive than the meat products this is not going to change.
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Same over here. In the UK there is far more choice of pb products and they are very good value for money.
 
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Lately I see quite a bit of 30% or even 50% discounted products because they're reached their BB date. While I'm taking advantage of that I wonder if in the long run it will lead to variety going down.

Plant based alternatives are way too expensive over here, especially cheeses. The nut-based ones are outrageously expensive but even the I'm-almost-exclusively-oil-cheeses are so damn expensive. Yes, it got better after the big players discovered the market and discounters like LIDL and Penny launched their Vemondo and Food for Future brands. Also VeHappy which you can buy at Edeka and Netto.
However, for non-vegan people to actually prefer the plant based alternatives they have to be cheaper than the meat, especially with so many budgets being as tight as they are because of inflation.
 
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A local restaurant chain "Pinchos" has started selling "New meat" by Redefine Meat.

Redefine Meat - New Meat, No Compromise

Creating a world where anyone can enjoy great New-Meat, without compromising on taste, sustainability, or experience.
www.redefinemeat.com www.redefinemeat.com

I'm looking forward to trying it.
Digging around, it appears to have some backing...
 
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