Meat substitute products are becoming increasingly relevant in Austria. In 2022, the market for such foods grew by eight percent (we reported). Also an advantage is that such products appear to be relatively inflation proof compared to regular meat. However, they are often still expensive: According to a study by the citizens’ initiative oekoreich, vegan meat substitute products in the supermarket sometimes cost up to 280 percent more than real meat.
Austrian market for plant-based products will grow by eight percent in 2022
“Prices border on usury”
“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. The consumption of more animal-friendly products, ideally made from local raw materials, should be promoted and not made more difficult in terms of price,” says Sebastian Bohrn Mena, spokesman for the oekoreich initiative.
For the study, oekoreich compared three vegan products with their classic counterparts. The vegan frozen pizza costs 90 percent more in the supermarket than a salami pizza. In terms of ingredients, however, it should be the other way around. The vegan “chicken fillet” costs 120 percent more than that made from real meat, and it consists of water, rapeseed oil and pea protein. The contrast is strongest with the vegan Frankfurter. Made mainly from wheat gluten and soy protein, they are 280 percent higher than the cheapest meat sausages at a price of 22 euros.
170 Austrian companies already rely on Fairtrade products
Some meat substitute products are also ecologically questionable
Processed meat products in the food trade in particular come from abroad. According to oekoreich, refrigerated shelves contain chicken from Italy or pork from Germany. In these countries, the meat comes from gigantic factories and is produced cheaply. However, according to the study, playing with the margins is also a decisive factor for the price. This influences consumption and promotes non-ecological production methods.
But oekoreich also criticizes vegan meat substitute products. Although these are a good alternative from an ethical point of view, 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 rather to stock up on seasonal and regional foods whenever possible.