Interview COV
'Dutch meat as a real quality mark'
Dutch meat must become a quality mark in itself for consumers in Northwestern Europe. That is the view of Laurens Hoedemaker (photo), as of 1 July the chairman of the Central Organization for the Meat Sector (COV) and the Association of the Dutch Meat Industry (VNV). He succeeds Jos Goebbels in these positions. Boerenbusiness spoke to them both in an online interview.
Goebbels has been on the frontline for more than 10 years at the COV and VNV as the figurehead of the Dutch meat sector. He looks back on that with great satisfaction. "Last year was of course a very exciting period due to the corona crisis. This had a great impact on the meat sector and the slaughterhouses and also brought a temporary export stop to China."
However, the sector has acted well and smoothly, Goebbels notes. "Measures were quickly taken and protocols drawn up. My compliments therefore go to the sector about how quickly this was picked up. We have once again proven that we can provide the population with meat even in difficult times. And that in a period when many products were scarce. Of course, that should not be forgotten".
Goebbels looks back on the policy plan drawn up with the greatest satisfaction during his term as chairman. In the Master Plan 2025, lines and contours have been set up for the future of the meat sector. "We have also been successful on many points, such as more attention for migrant workers." What worries Goebbels most is public opinion and the misconceptions about the meat industry. And therein lies a clean task for his successor Laurens Hoedemaker.
Hoedemaker has been trained in the past period and will officially take over next week (as of 1 July) left the baton from Goebbels† Before that he was director of the Royal Dutch Hunters Association.
Do you see similarities between the social position of hunters and that of the meat sector?
Hoedemaker: "Yes, there are certainly important similarities. What they have in common is that both sectors are under attack from a small and critical group of society that produces above-average noise. Both sectors also fulfill an important social function. Hunters manage the balance in nature and the meat sector ensures tasty, safe and responsible food."
What are the main goals you need to work on for the 2025 Master Plan?
"The plan is now being implemented and it is just well put together. What I also want to focus on - and what is not in the plan - is informing the public and politicians. We have to provide them with correct information about the sector, from farmers to plate. We need to dispel the misconceptions about the meat sector. 'Be good and tell it', that's the gist. The master plan focuses on the 'be good' part, but I want us to focus more on the ' tell it'.
The meat sector is indeed increasingly under the magnifying glass. On which fronts can the sector take further steps to improve public support?
"In addition to informing the public in the correct manner, we must certainly take a serious look ourselves at what we do and do not do well. We must continue to look closely at the environmental impact of the entire meat chain. Also the (international) labor in the meat chain is an important aspect.Although only 4% of all international workers in the Netherlands are active in the meat sector, we are responsible for them.We also see a desire from society for less flexible and more permanent work and for more security for employees.
"Those are certainly things that we have to balance in the coming period," adds Goebbels. We even added an extra module for labor when we created the 2025 Master Plan. We have been rightly criticized in the past that this part was underexposed. We certainly take responsibility for our employees, regardless of their origin."
How do you see the future of the meat sector and what are your expectations of the Chinese import demand?
Goebbels: "The Chinese import demand for pork remains important. We do not expect imports to stagnate sharply in the short term. Meat consumption in China continues to rise and they always need extra volumes to meet the domestic demand for pork. In addition, they are struggling in China. still with ASF outbreaks, so we do not foresee a sharp decline in the short term."
Speaking of ASF, how great do you think the threat that ASF will enter the Netherlands from Poland and Germany?
Goebbels: "We consider that chance small. Especially when it comes to contamination via live animals, because fortunately we do not yet border on ASF areas. However, the risk of contamination via food always remains."
Hoedemaker adds: "The chance that ASF will come to the Netherlands is small, but also not nil. If the virus does strike here, the damage is enormous. Even if only the wild boar population is affected. So it remains a significant risk."
How does the COV view cultured meat and all the promotion of meat substitutes?
Hoedemaker: "We are following the development of cultured meat with interest. To be honest, I don't really know what to think yet. From a social point of view, it is an interesting development. On the one hand, we see a strong demand from consumers for natural meat with transparency about the production. On the other hand, cultured meat is also on the rise, which is not at all natural and is produced in a laboratory. We are therefore following these developments with great interest. We see a lot of advertising for meat substitutes. We also see members in our sector who are partly committed on meat substitutes, in order to be able to provide food to consumers who do not eat meat for a day. For the time being, there is no role for COV there."
How will you, as a meat sector, ensure that the Dutch livestock farmer can earn a decent living from meat?
Hoedemaker: "Communication plays an important role for us. We have to show how good and safe the products from the Dutch meat chain are. We have to do this together with the livestock farmers. We recently also started a broad partnership to achieve this." launch a communication campaign. Many consumer misconceptions relate, for example, to the situation at primary farms. It is in our common interest to dispel these misconceptions and show how well we are really doing. , that the critical consumer in North-West Europe prefers Dutch meat. This is already happening, but needs to grow further. Dutch meat is produced under high welfare standards and Dutch meat should actually become a quality mark in itself."
Chanti Oussoren
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