Research shows: meat substitutes are no more expensive than meat
Do you think eating vegetarian is much more expensive? Think again: research shows that meat substitutes cost just as much as meat, or are considerably cheaper. Soy milk and margarine in particular are much cheaper than regular milk and butter.
Researchers from Questionmark examined the animal-based and plant-based versions of 32 different products in six supermarkets, including schnitzels, cheese, milk and butter. The research was commissioned by ProVeg, an organization committed to halving the consumption of animal products by 2040.
Budget
Is your budget holding you back from eating vegetarian? For one group of people, that is the reason they do not eat plant-based food more often, according to an earlier ProVeg survey. This research shows that the fear of a painful hit to your wallet is unfounded. The prices of meat substitutes and plant-based dairy products, among other things, have fallen considerably in recent years.
For example: in 2019, vegetarian mince was 24 cents more expensive than regular half-beef, half-pork mince; in 2022, the difference is only 6 cents. Soy milk costs the same as regular milk in the supermarkets visited by the researchers, including AH and Jumbo. Plant-based burgers, schnitzels and cheese slices were also just as expensive as, or cheaper than, the ‘regular’ version.
Bratwurst and meatballs
The researchers have to admit that almost half of the products—46 percent, to be precise—were (considerably) more expensive. You have to pay more for plant-based sandwich meat, fish fingers, chicken nuggets, meatballs and bratwurst. Why is that? It seems to be mainly down to supermarket margins. The margin on meat products is around 8 percent; in some cases, meat is even sold below cost price. Supermarkets apply margins of 35 to 50 percent to plant-based products. Crazy, right?
Lower margins
ProVeg is calling on supermarkets to adjust these prices. ‘If supermarkets reversed the situation and charged a 50 percent margin on meat, the world would look very different,’ says a ProVeg spokesperson. Supermarkets are responding to the call: Jumbo says it is aligning the prices of its vegetarian range with those of meat, and Albert Heijn has also adjusted its prices.
Price of grain
The research was conducted in January and February of this year. Price increases caused by the war in Ukraine were not included in the research. The researchers also say it is difficult to predict what will happen to the price of meat and meat substitutes.
‘Meat requires more grain than meat substitutes, so it is to be expected that the price pressure will be greatest there too.’ At the same time, they know that the costs are not passed on to products proportionally, so it remains to be seen what supermarkets will decide.
Image: Albert Heijn
