If you are a beef / sheep / chicken farmer, are you noticing a fall in demand?

[anotherotherone]

I was just travelling back down to London by train and there seem to be a lot less sheep and cows in the fields than normal. Am I imagining things?

There are so many meat / dairy alternatives in the shops now. AIBU to think (well, hope) that as people are eating less meat these days and this trend looks set to continue,
are farmers reacting by reducing their stocks?

It's a disgusting cruel industry and we now know full well milk isn't good for us.

@Carpy899

I would love the dairy industry to die.

Sorry to disappoint…

I would imagine the fields seem emptier because a lot of animals will still be in for winter, ours are all still in up in Scotland until the weather heats up. We have increased our production, beef and dairy, and organic.

It is true though that the vast majority of people live in urban environments in the U.K. and they don’t have time to go pootling off to independent butchers when there’s generally nowhere to park and it smells so bad and it’s a hassle.

In any coffee shop now, there are all sorts of milk alternatives and it’s as common to hear someone ordering soy or oat or almond as a dairy milk cappuccino or whatever. I’m not vegan, but even I have switched to oat milk in my lattes because it just tastes better.

It is declining overall, but at the same time there is also an increase in the number of people favouring more local " responsible and sustainably (lol) produced" meats, which will potentially be why small/local butchers are seeing an increase in demand.

Interestingly the UNFOA produced a paper in 2013(ish) that predicted the future trends of meat consumption which is panning out eerily accurately. Will see if I can find it again later.

There is a current rise in iron deficiency in young women going veggie.

Yes, you can be healthy on a veggie diet, but it is a lot harder than one that includes meat.

In east anglia we are seeing a lot more livestock in fields than we used to. Something to do with subsidy regime or global prices, I imagine. Sheep especially, were almost never seen, now see lots.

Op, you are starting to sound like an advertising spiel.... Do you work for the meat alternative network?

@dipdye

There is a current rise in iron deficiency in young women going veggie.

Yes, you can be healthy on a veggie diet, but it is a lot harder than one that includes meat.

Can you provide a source for this?

[quote Ihaventgottimeforthis]If you're not seeing animals out in the fields it might be because they're in for lambing, or dairy farms haven't reached spring turnout yet, or the fields are shut up for silage, or too wet for livestock still.
The Lancet indicates a small decrease in red meat consumption & a slight increase in white meat consumption (bad news for animal welfare) however it doesn't say anything about where the meat is sourced ie are people still eating the cheap stuff from Brazil...
www.thelancet.com/journals/lanplh/article/PIIS2542-5196(21)00228-X/fulltext[/quote]
Dairy farmers are about to turn out.

Sheep and their lambs should be out by now though.

"Around London" is more the hobby farmer though. I couldnt say what they do and dont do.

No, as I said, I don’t buy meat alternatives. The odd Quorn sausage maybe, because the kids like them, but that’s about it.

@Carpy899

It's a disgusting cruel industry and we now know full well milk isn't good for us.

we now know full well milk isn't good for us.

Can you provide a reputable source for this?

You keep going on about the smell of butchers and I think they smell fine? Not everyone is grossed out by carcasses and blood and stuff, literally loads of posters have replied saying how busy their local butchers are. You can be disgusted by meat and be veggie all you like but don’t pretend we’re all forcing ourselves into butchers despite the horrible smell

I'm trying to eat less meat for environmental reasons and tbh cost of living helps on the front too. In my circles I think people are reducing their meat consumption and veganism seems to be very popular right now.

I dont like meat alternatives. I just presume they are over processed. much rather have a simple veg curry than soya / tofu formed whatever.

Mear consumption was going up in China I thought? So worldwide is another story.

@lljkk

In east anglia we are seeing a lot more livestock in fields than we used to. Something to do with subsidy regime or global prices, I imagine. Sheep especially, were almost never seen, now see lots.

This is good news for soil health & biodiversity & climate - getting livestock back into an arable rotation is a great regenerative practice, can reduce reliance on artificial fertilisers & pesticides too. Good to hear!

There was a big spike in demand for meat during the lockdowns, especially things like beef mince and pork sausages. People cooked from scratch more and bought fresh meat to cook with.

There is a slight fall in demand in retail this year due to restrictions ending, but some of that is being picked up by demand from hospitality increasing again.

Demand for plant based alternatives is increasing, but it's from a pretty small base. The majority of consumers are still omnivores.

I live in 'farming country' and yes, certainly more vegetarian and vegan options available and being consumed everywhere from the takeaways and local pubs to the supermarket. I'm with you OP. Hope the farmers diversify/get out of the meat industry sooner than later.

You’ve obviously got your own agenda but I live in an “urban” environment and shop twice a week at one of these local butchers. No problem parking I park on the street right outside. Smell? Again I think you will have to accept this is not a problem for most (all?) meat eaters. The butchers I go to smells lovely. It has a deli as well as a fresh meat counter and sells homemade pies, desserts, cooked meats etc and does a mean bacon sandwich- smells delish to me and I would guess everyone who chooses to go in there.

We are recent vegetarians, about a year now, and I notice a lot of friends and family are choosing non meat food in restaurants. Lots of people saying although they eat meat, it’s much less now than they used to.

@anotherotherone

It is true though that the vast majority of people live in urban environments in the U.K. and they don’t have time to go pootling off to independent butchers when there’s generally nowhere to park and it smells so bad and it’s a hassle.

In any coffee shop now, there are all sorts of milk alternatives and it’s as common to hear someone ordering soy or oat or almond as a dairy milk cappuccino or whatever. I’m not vegan, but even I have switched to oat milk in my lattes because it just tastes better.

Not sure why urban people would need to be able to park near their butchers - if you're buying more meat than you can carry then you're probably eating too much meat.

Anecdotally I see a lot of people trying to eat less meat, but also a lot of carb-dodgers eating ridiculous quantities of chicken breasts and biltong. But if the stats say that overall meat consumption is decreasing then that's the way it is.

I haven’t set foot in a MacDonalds for decades, but even they are advertising vege / vegan stuff now.

Even my husband (who is 6 ft 3 and does a lot more stamina sports and is much more active than me) rarely eats meat now. He saw a documentary on chicken farming a few years ago and that was it - he literally hasn’t eaten it since. He used to chicken every other day.

@anotherotherone

It is true though that the vast majority of people live in urban environments in the U.K. and they don’t have time to go pootling off to independent butchers when there’s generally nowhere to park and it smells so bad and it’s a hassle.

In any coffee shop now, there are all sorts of milk alternatives and it’s as common to hear someone ordering soy or oat or almond as a dairy milk cappuccino or whatever. I’m not vegan, but even I have switched to oat milk in my lattes because it just tastes better.

Posh little madam, aren't you? Apart from 'urban' figures being skewed by London... the rest of the UK is surrounded by farms. Manchester for example is 20+ minutes drive away from the best of Cheshire.

@Mangogogogo

You keep going on about the smell of butchers and I think they smell fine? Not everyone is grossed out by carcasses and blood and stuff, literally loads of posters have replied saying how busy their local butchers are. You can be disgusted by meat and be veggie all you like but don’t pretend we’re all forcing ourselves into butchers despite the horrible smell

People who can't stand the smell of butchers, or understand that they're eating animals shouldn't eat meat... also those people who 'can't handle# cutting raw meat and think it's disguting. Erm, whom do you think magically chops it up then?

I buy whole chickens and chop them up myself, apparently this is a Herculean tasks based on some of the comments I've received.

Where I live near and dairy is still the norm in peoples diets. My dd is veggie and I am able to buy most of her food reduced because the reduced to clear section is mostly vegetarian, it doesn't sell well here

It’s the time of year, lots are still indoors

Round here there is no reduction on animals in fields, and as others say butchers are doing well (family run normal ones )

Why eat meat alternatives, full of additives and chemicals

Not to mention not as good for the environment as lots think