The Greens are now calling for a meat ban again. But inflation is also making itself felt at the meat counter. In view of the increased prices, the entire meat consumption in Germany is already falling.
The Greens want less meat production in Germany. Because of the hunger crisis that is looming in poor countries as a result of the Ukraine war, meat production in Germany must be reduced, according to Green Party politician Anton Hofreiter. “We simply have to reduce the number of animals. At the latest in such an emergency, which we are currently in, we need a larger proportion of the land directly for human consumption,” said Hofreiter in an interview with “ntv.de”.
The background to the green demand is that, according to the Ministry of Agriculture, only 20 percent of the grain grown in Germany is used for human consumption and 58 percent ends up in the feeding troughs of pigs and cattle. So less meat means more grain for exports to countries in need. But in view of the inflation, Hofreiter and the Greens do not have to take any further action.
Eight percent inflation? With steak it is almost 60 percent! At the discounter Lidl, the beef rump steak used to cost 16.99 euros per kilo, now 26.99 euros. That’s a 59 percent premium. The rib-eye steak is now available for a whopping 30.99 instead of 19.99 per kilo – 55 percent more expensive. The fillet of beef is currently only available from 45.99 euros. And beef in organic quality was unaffordable for most people before and even more so today.
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The total meat consumption in Germany is falling because of the high prices. The Agrarmarkt Informations-Gesellschaft (AMI) confirmed to FOCUS Online: In the first quarter of 2022 there were ten percent fewer pigs slaughtered than in the previous year and 14 percent fewer cattle went under the butcher’s knife.
The declining figures are also confirmed by the Society for Consumer Research. In its current Consumer Index, GfK records a significant decline in German meat consumption for April 2022: “In the fresh sector, meat, sausage and poultry are recording significant volume losses: red meat has the sharpest decline at almost minus 13 percent compared to the same month last year, followed poultry at minus twelve and sausages at minus seven percent. Although volumes are falling significantly, significantly higher prices prevent a similarly sharp drop in sales.”
According to GfK, the price per kilo for red meat rose by more than twelve percent on average, by almost eight percent for pork, by 15 percent for beef and by almost 29 percent mixed beef/pork. The picture is similar for poultry: chickens are ten percent more expensive, and turkey even 17 percent more expensive. And these are just average prices. Beef goulash and soup meat may show a smaller price increase, for steak it is gigantic.
The Germans are also making cutbacks when it comes to animal welfare. The Bund Ökologische Lebensmittelwirtschaft reports falling organic shares in meat: last year it was around 2.6 percent for organic poultry and 3.6 percent for red meat (pork, beef, lamb, sheep and veal).
Overall, organic shops and organic supermarkets sold significantly fewer goods in the first three months of this year than in the same period last year, as reported by the Bundesverband Naturkost Naturwaren. On average, daily sales were almost ten percent lower in January and more than 18 percent in March. The price increases for organic meat are also responsible for this. The trend in organic wholesale is similar. However, exact figures for rejected organic meat are not yet available.
