Status: 02/15/2023 3:38 p.m
The discounter Lidl wants to replace meat with more plant-based products, and Aldi also wants to switch to better animal husbandry for salami and sausages. Will this change consumer habits?
Seitan schnitzel, soy mince or mortadella made from pea proteins: veggie products are all the rage. According to the Federal Statistical Office, the market for meat substitutes increased by 17 percent in 2021 alone compared to the previous year. With the discounter Lidl, this could become a lot more in the future – because Lidl wants to change its offer.
Lidl wants to “significantly increase the proportion of plant-based protein sources in the range by 2025 as an alternative to animal protein sources,” writes the company on request. We are aware of the fact that nutrition has a significant impact on the climate, biodiversity and health.
Trade possibly faster than politics
The discounter’s decision could set things in motion. Although meat consumption has declined in recent years, according to the Federal Agency for Agriculture and the Environment, consumption in 2021 was an average of 55 kilograms per capita.
It looks like Lidl could even overtake politics with its announcement. The traffic light had agreed in the coalition agreement to strengthen plant-based alternatives and to work for “the approval of innovations such as alternative protein sources and meat substitutes in the EU”. However, Cem Özdemir’s Federal Ministry of Agriculture is currently still in the process of working out a specific nutrition strategy to strengthen healthy, plant-based foods.
“Affront to Pet Owners”
At the Bavarian Farmers’ Association, the discounter’s advance met with a lack of understanding. “For the farmers, it is first of all a criticism and an affront to everyone who keeps animals. They cannot understand that,” explains Isabella Timm-Guri, who is responsible for the department of production and marketing at the Bavarian Farmers’ Association.
According to Timm-Guri, sustainability and climate protection can also be achieved in other ways. For example, by retail expanding its range of regional and seasonal foods. Either way, she assumes that consumers will not follow Lidl’s “paternalism” and will switch to other grocery stores instead. “I make the decision as an individual as to whether, where and what I eat,” says Timm-Guri.
Aldi wants to change the range by 2030
Meanwhile, Aldi is also making an announcement that could have far-reaching effects on the range and on animal husbandry in Germany. By 2030, the discounter wants to completely convert chilled meat and sausage products to the two highest forms of husbandry, 3 and 4.
With fresh meat, Aldi Nord and Süd announced as early as 2021 that they wanted to gradually ensure more animal welfare. In the future, this promise will also apply to products such as salami, boiled ham, Viennese sausages and bacon, the company wrote in a statement. Aldi not only wants to “enable new sales opportunities for farmers and suppliers, but also expand the animal welfare range for its customers”.
Farmers under pressure
Minister Özdemir expressly welcomes this step. Meat products from higher forms of husbandry are the future, according to the Green politician. “Meat consumption is falling steadily and at the same time consumers want animals to be kept better.” The food retail trade is signaling to farmers that the demand for products from more animal-friendly husbandry is increasing – a commitment that gives “local farms a reliable planning perspective”.
However, it will not be that easy for many farmers to create the supply for this. At the moment, meat from husbandry type 2 still dominates in many supermarkets. In order to “upgrade” to level 3 or 4, animal owners have to convert their stalls – for example, provide more fresh air, exercise or activity materials such as scouring walls.
Foodwatch review
The consumer protection organization Foodwatch does not assume that Aldi’s “change of attitude” will improve animal welfare in Germany in the long term. There are sick animals in all forms of husbandry, both on conventional and organic farms. “No misleading husbandry labeling helps against illness and misery of millions of animals, but only complete laws for more animal health,” says Annemarie Botzki from Foodwatch.
Lidl’s announcement that it would offer fewer meat products overall is a step in the right direction – also with regard to the environment. “In order for us to achieve our climate goals, we also have to get to the meat sector,” says Botzki. It’s about reducing animal husbandry significantly.
Foodwatch is calling for the number of animals to be reduced by at least half. The push by Lidl to change the range is therefore important. “Because that also shows where we stand socially and where we are going,” says Botzki.