Cabinet opens attack on meat and dairy consumption

The cabinet is launching an attack on meat, dairy and egg consumption in the Netherlands. Consumers will have to make major changes to their diet over the next eight years, with animal proteins having to be exchanged for vegetable proteins. A meat tax is also being investigated. According to Henk Staghouwer, the Minister of Agriculture, Nature and Food Quality, this shift in diet is good for health and sustainability. 

Staghouwer writes this in a letter to the House of Representatives, in which the minister of the ChristenUnie announced a tightening of food policy in the Netherlands. The central goal of this policy is to shift the balance in the consumption of animal and vegetable proteins from the current ratio of 60/40 (in favor of meat, dairy and eggs, among others) to 50/50 by 2030. According to Staghouwer, this is an ambitious goal, but there is "a very broad consensus" for this. "This calls for a behavioral change in diet across the entire population." He points to the so-called Wheel of Five, which, according to the minister, is already striving for such a relationship. According to Staghouwer, reducing the consumption of animal proteins also results in a 10 to 15% reduction in greenhouse gas emissions.

Average consumer does not choose consciously
An important part of the new policy that the government is proposing is that what they believe to be healthier and more sustainable products must be better presented in the shop and supermarket. In addition to meat products, vegetarian substitutes must then be offered much more emphatically. The organic range must also be greatly increased on the shelves. Staghouwer indicates that he is working on a National Organic Strategy, in which not only production but also the demand for organic products must be promoted. In doing so, he wants to comply with the agreements made in the EU within the so-called Green Deal. 

As a result, consumers must be tempted much more than now to buy plant-based products, Staghouwer explains in the letter. Because according to him, the average consumer does not "consciously choose healthy and sustainable products. Consumers mainly choose on the basis of habit, convenience and price." Bringing about a change in consumer behavior is a long-term process, Staghouwer explains. According to the minister, the "food environment" for consumers must therefore be addressed. "We expect food providers, such as supermarkets, hospitality and catering, as well as the processing industry, to take their responsibility to present the sustainable and healthy choice as the easy choice."

Series of price incentives not excluded
In the letter, Staghouwer also does not rule out targeting the price in order to send the consumer to a different consumption pattern. He is also having research carried out into whether a levy on meat can be implemented, whereby the proceeds can be recycled back to the agricultural sector for organic or more sustainable production. Advocated this morning (Tuesday, March 29) also the so-called TAPP coalition† Staghouwer explicitly does not mention a dairy tax, something TAPP would like to see. It is also striking that the minister speaks of price incentives towards more sustainable and healthier choices, "without restricting people's freedom." This last commitment is not explained in more detail.

But the meat tax is not the only means of pricing that the cabinet wants to use. Staghouwer also points to the agreements that have already been made in the coalition agreement, such as a tax increase on non-alcoholic (soft) drinks, explorations into lowering the VAT (from 9 to 0%) on fruit and vegetables and a sugar tax.

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