"Borders on usury": Vegan meat substitutes are up to 280 percent more expensive

2023-04-25 04:01:33

With 3 examples from supermarkets, the citizens’ initiative oekoreich shows enormous price differences between meat and meat substitutes and calls for price reductions

Vienna (OTS) – Groceries are becoming more and more expensive, and for many people shopping is now associated with stress. This also applies to those who try to make a contribution to animal welfare through conscious consumption on their own plates. Because meat substitute products are currently more expensive than ever. The citizens’ initiative shows three concrete products from local supermarkets oekoreich the enormous price differences, which also significantly control consumer behavior.

The vegan frozen pizza costs 90% more than the salami pizza, although the ingredients should be the opposite. The vegan “chicken fillet” costs 120% more than real meat and is made from water, canola oil and pea protein. The vegan “Frankfurter” knock the bottom out of the barrel. Made mainly from wheat gluten & soy protein, they cost 22 euros, 280% more than the cheapest meat sausages.

Cheap foreign production & margins control consumer behavior

Processed meat products in the food trade in particular come from abroad. Chicken from Italy or pork from Germany, for example, are on the refrigerated shelves. In these countries, gigantic factories produce and feed with GM soy, which leads to lower costs. But playing with the margins is also crucial for the price. This also influences consumption and promotes this non-ecological production method.

„The prices for vegan meat substitute products border on usury. The ingredients are cheap and fewer raw materials are used, but imitations are much more expensive. Here, corporations from industry and trade seem to enrich themselves at the expense of consumers and that is particularly disgraceful, especially in the midst of an inflation crisis. However, the consumption of more animal-friendly products, preferably made from local raw materials, should be promoted and not made more difficult in terms of price“ said Sebastian Bohrn Mena, spokesman for the initiative oekoreich.

Recommendation: Consume seasonal and regional foods

Although many vegan meat substitute products are a good alternative from an ethical point of view, especially to imported meat, they have a poor ecological balance due to the unclear origin of the raw materials. Sometimes the ingredients travel tens of thousands of kilometers before they end up at the table. oekoreich therefore recommends not resorting to highly processed substitute products, but instead to primarily stock up on seasonal and regional foods whenever possible.

oekoreich is an initiative of the non-profit foundation COMÚN and is committed to more transparency and fairness in the area of food production and trade. She would like to support conscious consumption, but also calls for regulatory measures by the legislature. It emerged in 2021 from the animal welfare petition, which, with over 416,000 signatures, is one of the most successful initiatives in recent years.