Ed Hand
Farmers Forum
The death knell for the beef industry due to plant-based options has been grossly exaggerated. The worry over Beyond Meat and the Impossible Burger replacing beef has dimmed.
“It’s lost its lustre,” according to Sylvain Charlebois, Canadian researcher and professor in food distribution and food policy at Dalhousie University. When Beyond Meat appeared in 2019, the company doubled its value in a day. People were clamouring for a vegetable-based protein that had the flavour of beef. It checked all the boxes for the health conscious, with economic and environmental and animal welfare considerations. This year those giddy sales numbers for plant-based protein products have come back down to earth.
Economics plays a part. Annual Inflation hit 7.7 percent last month and Canadians are looking to save money at the grocery stores. The latest data from Dalhousie University shows that beef prices are high but plant-based alternatives are 38 percent more expensive. So, consumers are asking, “Why pay more for it, when it’s not the real thing?” according to Charlebois.
Sylvain Charlebois.
When plant-based proteins hit the shelves, many eyes cast toward the Ontario beef farmer and its impact. “It was on our radar and still is,” according to Craig McLaughlin, VP of Beef Farmers of Ontario and owner of 250 head in Renfrew. “It’s always a market threat as are the other proteins like chicken, pork and seafood.” The beef industry just adapted to the new reality with enhanced marketing and it got aggressive in supporting local farm families. Beef farmers also got better environmentally, McLaughlin says.
A U.S. study completed in July 2020 at Ohio University lumped plant-based protein products in with meat and found that while beef held 46 % of the market and chicken 23 %, plant-based faux meat captured only .04 % of the market.
“We thought plant-based meat alternatives would be a potential replacement for red meat, but they’re not. It’s more of a complement,” said study co-author Wuyang Hu, professor of agricultural, environmental and development economics at The Ohio State University in an interview with Drovers magazine. “People buy pork and beef, and at the same time they also buy plant-based meats.”
Restaurants jumped on board with plant-based protein offerings. A&W was one of the first to add it to the menu and then expanded their options, while on the other hand McDonald’s has just pulled the plug on the test of its McPlant burger due to lacklustre sales. That in turn dropped Beyond Meat’s stock by 6 percent.
There are still some bees in the bonnet of the beef industry when it comes to plant-based protein. Lauren Martin, Government and Food Industry relations with the Canadian Cattle Association, says it’s more about the wording. “We don’t like meat terms being used for non-meat products.”
She points out the plant-based offerings are simulated. “When you buy one of those products, they have 20 different ingredients to make it. With beef, there is only one ingredient, beef.”
She concedes that plant-based protein products are here to stay and beef producers will adapt their marketing. “There’s a place for everyone on the plate,” she said.
Sandra Vos is a beef farmer outside of Paris in Brant County. She wants to see more focus on the labelling of the plant-based products. She points out that France has declared that faux meat cannot use words like steak or sausage on a package. “I think Canada can do an even better job of that,” she said.
While the plant-based protein market is adjusting to inflationary pressure and customer cost concerns, it’s not going anywhere, Charlebois says. “I think as the market matures, I feel it will reach parity with beef.”
The year 2026 will be a time to watch plant-based protein sales as new federal regulations will come into effect that will force plant-based producers to show the salt and fat content on the front of packaging. One of the complaints about the plant-based options is that they come packed with salt.
