Interview Jaap Korteweg
'Agriculture must learn to look ahead'
According to Jaap Korteweg, founder of the Vegetarian Butcher, Dutch agriculture will be very different in 50 years. Korteweg himself now does something completely different from his grandfather, a draft horse breeder, flax grower and owner of a small flax factory. A healthy farm looks further and adapts where necessary. A company like Avebe is a good example of this, he stated at the 100th anniversary party of the potato cooperative.
Korteweg spoke at a symposium organized by Avebe on Thursday (14 November) in Groningen. The cooperative of starch potato growers was also awarded the Royal designation and can henceforth call itself Royal Avebe. Korteweg, who has since sold De Vegetarische Slager to Unilever, gave his vision on sustainable food, just like Wageningen UR top woman Louise Fresco.
During the farmers' protests of 1990, farmers didn't really have a plan. You did have a plan and that is where the Dutch Arable Farming Union (NAV) rolled out. Do you also have a plan for agriculture during the farmers' protests of 2019?
"The core of that time were the grain mountains and butter mountains, which resulted in rock bottom prices. The solution was that we have to produce enough, but not too much and in a sustainable way, geared to the wishes of society. Only then can you demand a cost-effective price from that same society. We now see that coming back. There is a lot of uncertainty and wavering policy from politics for which farmers pay the bill."
"Henk Bleeker has done agriculture a disservice with his ostrich policy of the past and claim that farmers drive half a million tractors. I don't know them. In that regard, I think the position of the scientific bureau of the CDA is that it is about quality (farmers income and sustainable production) instead of quantity (largest exporter) much more promising. Try to keep an eye on the big picture. Take mink farming, for example. That has been under discussion for decades. Now the ban will probably come. so don't throw your ass against the crib, but your ass against the past. The lesson we can learn is that looking ahead is important. Think about what the food will look like in the future and anticipate. a lot of creativity is required. Only in this way do you get the support from government and society."
Demand-driven production was one of the key points for you at the time. Is that still true?
"Yes, only then demand-driven in the longer term. You now have a lot of demand for pork in China due to the swine fever. But that is of course not a sustainable demand. So don't focus on that, but look further ahead."
If less meat is produced as a result of your initiatives, will the agricultural area in the Netherlands also change?
"Not very strong, because we now have to import the majority of the feed for our chickens and pigs. With vegetable meat we can become much more self-sufficient. The area of grassland remains, because grass continues to be needed for new initiatives. For example, for our idea to Dairy farms are now under pressure because there are too many livestock. But we will simply process the grass into milk mechanically. The cow will be made of stainless steel, which means, among other things, no nitrogen emissions. Scientists We like it. We think that, just like with our meat production, we can produce milk three times more efficiently than with a cow. Companies from the dairy industry are collaborating on this and want to invest."
You recently started working with Burger King. What does that mean for the meat substitutes market and your company?
"This was the largest introduction to the meat substitute market ever. This makes us 4 times as big. And that's just the beginning. We want to replace meat in more popular products and Burger King wants that too. That's promising."
At Avebe's 100th anniversary, you spoke about the future of meat substitutes, as did Louise Fresco. Do parties such as Avebe, the Vegetarian Butcher and Wageningen work shoulder to shoulder in this?
"Yes, Avebe is our main supplier of proteins. They supply the protein as an egg replacement, so that we can make our products 100% vegetable. Potato protein is a fantastic raw material for us. It is therefore highly desirable what they do. And with the WUR has also been working together on the development of our products from the start."
Anne-Jan Doorn
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