The demand for meat substitutes threatens to cause a shortage of raw materials. Due to the popularity of a meatless lifestyle, a run has been created on vegetable raw materials. Manufacturers and chemical companies warn in the Financieel Dagblad about a price increase for raw materials.
Currently the market for meat substitute is still very small compared to that of the gigantic meat industry. Yet this year alone, ABN Amro anticipates a growth of no less than 10 percent for meat substitutes. Barclays investment bank even goes a step further and thinks that the global market for meat substitutes will be ten times as big in 10 years as it is now.
According to the Voedingscentrum, more than half of the Dutch population no longer eats meat three days a week. Food producers smell their commercial opportunities and respond to this trend. More and more – of origin – meat products are being replaced for vegetarian variants or offered to consumers as a meatless alternative.
So we all thought we were very hip and environmentally conscious by serving meat substitutes on the table more and more, but a shortage of raw materials is also not something we are waiting for.
Meat substitutes are now often a lot more expensive than meat products and can certainly not compete with the shots of the supermarkets. Before we know it, families with a smaller wallet will now be eating traditional steak every evening and only the hipsters will be eating and juicing in a sourdough taco with vegan garlic sauce and very expensive vegetarian minced meat.
