Meat remains a permanent place on the Belgian plate
68% indicate that meat is strongly ingrained in their dietary habits, so that purchasing, preparing and finding recipe inspiration for it takes little effort. This is apparent from the iVox survey in February 2022.
The main change regarding meat consumption is in the number of consumption moments. The Belgian reduces the number of meals that meat is eaten. The number of meals in which a different protein source is chosen thus increases, so that Belgians vary more and reduce meat consumption in the long term (annually at the rate of 1% to 2%). It is striking that during the Covid 19 pandemic, significantly more fresh products, including meat, were consumed at home due to the loss of the possibility to eat outside (at a restaurant). Since the reopening of the catering industry, we see that shift recovering.
Belgians certainly do not view meat negatively: 9 out of 10 Belgians (90%) indicate that they do not have a negative attitude towards the product. The main driver for variation in their eating habits is breaking the regular routine. It is a positive choice of variation (variation is tasty, healthy and sustainable). For example, only 9% think that meat does not fit into a healthy diet. For a part of the population (29%) concern for the environment and the climate is an argument for variation. Animal cruelty is an argument that we mainly hear from people who rarely or never eat meat.
The majority of Belgians vary in protein sources (meat, fish or vegetarian). Less than 1 in 5 (17%) say they will still eat meat almost every day in 2022, but this group has decreased in recent years (from 24% in 2014). On the other hand, we see that only 8% do not eat meat every week. 4% never eat it and this percentage has remained stable for a number of years. Leaving aside the 2 extremes, this means that 75% of Belgians regularly eat meat, alternating with fish and vegetarian diets, so that they have a varied diet.
Local is a love brand for many Belgians
Almost 3 in 5 Belgians (58%) indicate that the country of origin has an influence on their purchase choice of fresh meat. An absolute majority (95%) of them indicate that they have a preference for local meat. This preference for domestic meat is mainly due to the support for the domestic economy, the confidence in the controls in Belgium (safer) and the efforts made by the Belgian meat sector in the field of the environment and animal welfare. For the time being, this perception of being more environmentally friendly is mainly due to the shorter transport required. Further knowledge about the environmental impact of domestic meat is rather limited. For example, only 18% know that the CO2 emissions of Belgian White-Blue cattle are lower than those of, for example, Irish cattle.
Between 2014 and 2018, home consumption of meat, including poultry, decreased by 3% annually, by 2% in 2018 and by 1% in 2019. This was offset by increasing consumption outside the home and an increased interest in ready-to-eat meals, which are not included in the home consumption of meat. As a result of the corona crisis that erupted in March 2020 and the associated restrictive measures (including closure of the catering industry, mandatory home work), consumption at home increased and consumption outside the home decreased in 2020 and 2021. In 2021, GfK Belgium recorded a home consumption of 28.4 kg per capita. for meat including poultry, that is 9% more than in 2019 before the corona crisis.
Fresh chicken remains the most important category in volume with 8.0 kg per capita, followed by fresh meat mixtures (including mixed minced meat, mixed skewers, etc.) (6.3 kg), fresh pork (5.4 kg), fresh beef (4 .6 kg), other fresh meat (veal, turkey, lamb, horse meat, rabbit, game,…) (2.7 kg) and frozen meat and poultry (1.5 kg).
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