Environmental advocacy organisation Madre Brava has urged retailers to align their protein product sales with human and planetary health goals.
Its call to action follows an assessment undertaken by Madre Brava on the largest 15 retailers in Europe. It found that while all have plans or targets to reduce emissions from the food they sell, Dutch retailer Ahold Delhaize and discounter Lidl are leading the way in this regard.
More sustainable diets
“Consumers across Europe want to cut down on meat,” said Nico Muzi, managing director of Madre Brava. “Supermarkets can support this shift to healthier, more sustainable diets by making wholefoods and plant-based products cheaper and more accessible.
“We call on all major European food retailers to commit to rebalancing their protein product sales in line with human and planetary health goals. This is not only good for people, animals and planet; it’s good business too.”
Ahold Delhaize has pledged that by the end of 2024, all its European retail banners will set targets to increase plant protein sales and reduce animal-sourced foods. In the Netherlands, it aims to achieve a 60% plant and 40% animal protein split by 2030, compared to a 44.1% plant and 55.9% animal split in 2023.
Lidl has committed to rebalance its protein sales across all 31 countries in which it operates. It has already increased plant-based protein product sales and reduced conventional meat and dairy sales in Austria, Belgium, Germany, Luxembourg, Netherlands, and Switzerland.
Elsewhere, French retailer Carrefour has outlined its intention to address this as a matter of urgency, stating, ‘A shift from animal proteins to vegetal proteins will be necessary to achieve our Scope 3 [emissions] targets.’
Scope 3 emissions
Some 93% of a supermarket’s total emissions stems from ‘Scope 3’ emissions—those from the entire value chain including agriculture, food processing, food waste, and transport. Meat and dairy products are the largest contributors, accounting for 51% of all Scope 3 emissions from food retailers.
A recent Profundo study for Madre Brava revealed that if supermarket giants Ahold Delhaize, Carrefour, Lidl, and Tesco replace 50% of their beef, pork, and chicken sales with legumes, tofu, and plant-based meat alternatives by 2030, they could achieve significant environmental benefits.
This shift would save emissions equivalent to taking 22 million cars off the road, equivalent to almost every car in Spain, reduce land use by an area the size of Portugal (91,000 sq km), and save water equal to 228,000 Olympic-size swimming pools annually (570 million cubic meters).
‘Plant/animal protein split targets are beginning to deliver on their promise to help consumers buy more plant protein products at affordable prices and reduce their meat purchases. The shift to more plants and fewer animal foods offers significant health benefits for consumers while contributing to sustainability goals,’ Madre Brava said.
