Necessity to change breeds innovation

The red meat sector has been the focus of unprecedented media attention and now unprecedented disruption. While it has not been possible to take account of the full impact of coronavirus in this report, the sector was facing substantial pressure before it hit, and it is not unreasonable to expect that many of the challenges in ethics, climate and land use will persist once the crisis has calmed.

Last year, UK producers were faced with deep uncertainty as our trading relationships with the EU and other significant beef-producing nations entered negotiations. The coronavirus crisis has shown us again that it’s not just trade arrangements that could disrupt existing supply chain patterns. Longer term, if other climate-impacting sectors of the economy suffer deep and perhaps lasting reductions in demand, particularly to personal and international travel, agriculture’s climate impact will be of more significance, not less. Equally, media hype around meat-free diets seems to have disappeared as people rush to secure food, and food producers have been flipped from villain to hero. But the possible role of animal protein consumption in creating the crisis means that a great deal of introspection is likely to follow.

It’s impossible to say if the current revaluation of food by society will produce lasting change, but accountability and scrutiny are likely to remain pressing concerns and, globally, demand from developing areas of the world is predicted to keep rising, as consumption of protein correlates with higher living standards. These are strong demand fundamentals.

2020 will be a year of great change, and necessity will breed innovative solutions. Producers looking to prepare their businesses for 2021 and beyond need to carefully consider fundamental policy drivers, as well as their target markets and value-add proposition to ensure lasting benefit. This report provides an update on the beef and sheep-meat markets at what could be a critical turning point in our food system, together with a wider look at the pre-existing consumer trends and behaviours, and thoughts about the future sustainability of the red meat sector.

_{Read the other articles within Spotlight: Red Meat Outlook below}