FLEISCHWIRTSCHAFT international 1/2017

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Fleischwirtschaft international 1_2017
Consumer Research
Ardi and Willyvan Erp
with their farm in Sint
Anthonis are
ambassadors of the
image campaign for the
advertising slogan “We
are proud if you buy one
of our chickens”.
Poultry still as popular as ever
Dutch per capita consumption of poultry meat remains constant at ahigh level
Poultry meat consumption now
accounts for around one third of
total meat consumption in the
Netherlands (per capita around
75 kg). This is due not only to the
factthat for manypeoplepoultry
tastes good,that it is easily digestibleand
can be prepared easily
in manydifferent ways. The study
recently presented by the University
of Wageningen on the development
of meat consumption in the years
2005 to 2015 also shows rational
arguments such as the comparatively
small CO2 footprint.The
Association of Dutch Poultry Processing
Industries (Nepluvi) sees
the constantly high level of poultry
meat consumption as confirmation
of the industry’scommitment to
sustainability and viability.
By Gert-Jan Oplaat
On the basis of the study on
meat consumption in the
Netherlands published recently by
the University of Wageningen
from Wageningen, the Netherlands,
Nepluvi can draw agood
balance for the poultry sector.
Although meat consumption in
general has declined in recent
years, the consumption of poultry
meat has continued to rise and
according to thelatest figures has
remained at the high level of
2014.Thus theper capita consumption
of poultry meat in the
Netherlands reached an impressive
22.3 kg in 2015 too and is
accordingly stable against the
trend.
Since 2005 total percapita meat
consumption in general has
dropped by five kg from 80 kg to
75 kg. By contrast, especially in the
years 2005 to 2009, poultry meat
consumption increased strongly
and has remained constant at this
comparatively high level ever
since.
Factors influencing
meat consumption
Thestudy examines the development
of meat consumption by the
Dutch population in the years
2005 to 2015 under various aspects.
Differing attitudes to the
nature and quantity of meat consumption
can be identified over
the years. Alongside changes in
dietary habits targeting ahealthier
or more balanced lifestyle, factors
such as sustainability and animal
welfare are also playing an increasingly
important role, with their
relevance and impactalways depending
on how much meat a
consumer basically consumes.
According to theUniversity of
Wageningen, in the course of recent
years it has become established in
society that lower meat consumption
involves asmaller CO2 footprint.For
some consumers, the
quantity of meat consumed is
directly linked to global warming
(Wageningen Economic Research
Nota 2016-097,9,11).
However,this is not as relevant
for the poultry meat sectorasit is
for other types of meat.Here
poultry meat has an ecological
advantage over pigmeat and beef
above all due to the good feed
conversion ratebythe nature of of
the animals. Furthermore, by
using efficient heat recovery and
heat storage technologies, the
sectorisreducing energy consumption
in poultry-keeping
further.There are already some
energy-neutral farms in the
Netherlands.
Focus on health, welfare
and sustainability
Animal welfare and animal health
also influence the population’s
attitude to their meat consumption.
There are things going on in
the Netherlands in this respect.
Forexample the broiler sectoris
the EU-wide pioneer in reducing
the application of antibiotics. The
use of these medicaments there
has dropped by 71% since 2009. It
is evident from the 2015 annual
report of the Dutch Animal Health
Service (Gezondheidsdienst voor
Dieren, GD) that it has been possible
to reduce their use substantially
there within the last seven years.
This is attributable above all to a
special antibiotic use plan that has
been practiced since 2008.
Thecorresponding measures
and methods are applied directly on