Veganuary makes headway

Veganuary is a campaign to persuade people to try a vegan lifestyle in January: Veganuary. They state: 'Our vision is simple; we want a vegan world. A world without animal farms and slaughterhouses.' Clearly not good news if you are a livestock farmer.

The campaign is clearly making some headway, although one of the first lessons in a research methods course is that there is a difference between what people say, particularly if it is seen as virtuous, and what they do.

I think that the impact of a 'flexitarian' diet may be greater, i.e., where people cut down, or eliminate, the consumption of red meat for both health and environmental reasons, as well as concerns about animal welfare. Wanting to be healthier appears to be the main reason for giving up animal products (55 per cent), followed by animal welfare concerns (49 per cent) and protecting the environment (30 per cent).

Sales of red meat fell more by value than any other category in supermarkets last year, down by £185m according to Nielsen. Sales of meat-free alternatives rose by 18 per cent to £405m, the highest growth rate of any category. Sales of poultry were up 1.4 per cent and fish 1.2 per cent.

There is, of course, a whole spectrum of choices from being a pescatarian to a vegan, although it is said that vegans particularly have an issue with vegetarians because they do not follow their position to its logical conclusion. However, for some people, becoming vegan may involve a series of transitions.

832,000 people gave up some animal products for the first time in January 2019, according to Kantar research, based on tracking purchases of 30,000 households. Six months later 57 per cent said they still avoided the same products. Of those who had gone back to eating animal products, three quarters said they were eating less than before.

When I went to Marks & Sparks this morning they were heavily promoting plant based products, so clearly retailers see a commercial opportunity and a chance to burnish their green credentials.

The NFU thinks that livestock farmers could export more of what they produce, given that the environmental impact of production systems based on existing grassland was less than than tearing down forests to creating grazing as in Brazil.

The livestock sector is already in economic difficulty and vulnerable to a 'no deal' Brexit. Unfortunately, much of the land on which livestock is reared is not suitable for growing field vegetables or fruit. One issue for fruit and vegetable crops is the availability of environmentally friendly plant protection products based on biology rather than chemistry.