Northern Ireland-based grassland technical manager and beef farmer, Gary Spence, has published his Nuffield Farming report ‘I can’t believe it’s not beef! Can livestock compete with alternative proteins?’, sponsored by The Thomas Henry Foundation.
During his Scholarship, Spence travelled to Australia, Ireland and the USA, while also conducting virtual interviews in New Zealand, the Netherlands, Switzerland, Finland, and Germany.
In his report, Spence said, “Livestock production and meat consumption has been under intense scrutiny in recent years, being labelled as a major contributor to climate change and associated with negative impacts on human health. This has led to the development of a plant-based meat alternative industry which has been hailed as a major solution to climate change and improved human health.”
During his Scholarship, Spence explored how the livestock industry can adapt to changing consumer demands and how best to market red meat products. He focussed on identifying consumer concerns, including welfare, environment, cost, and product quality, and established how to respond to these concerns.
Spence said, “For a successful future, the UK red meat industry must take account of changing demands and react and build a resilient supply-chain focused on animal welfare, environmentally friendly products reducing climate impact while also improving wider biodiversity and water quality.”
He recommended a focus on meat eating quality and consistency. He said, “The United States and Australia have both implemented technologies to reward beef producers which have improved eating quality characteristics, and this study recommends that a similar approach should be taken in the UK.
“Each producer should review their business to identify and capitalise on their strengths, to produce beef in a way that is resilient to extremes and produce products that meet consumer demand.”
Key findings:
- The alternative protein industry faces as may challenges as the beef industry
- Animal welfare in the UK is good but there is still room for improvement
- There are many ways to reduce beef’s impact on the environment
- Technology exists to grade beef quality to ensure consumers get consistency in beef products
- We can do more to communicate our story to consumers and market beef products