Spain: Why less vegetables are consumed if there are more and more vegetarians?
We don't want to eat meat, or at least not as much. There are more vegetarians, vegans and flexitarians. However, sales figures for fresh fruit and vegetables in Europe are falling. Doesn't this seem like a contradiction?
It is not easy to find exact data on how many people are choosing to eliminate or cut meat from their diet, but observation indicates that it is a growing trend. A recent study concludes that in Spain 4% of the population is vegetarian -they do not eat meat or fish- and 0.8% is vegan -they do not eat dairy products or eggs. Around 7% are flexitarians, i.e. they tend to eat less and less animal protein. In countries in northern and central Europe, the proportion is higher. One report notes that in Germany, the sum of these three options amounts to half of the population.
More vegetarians equals higher vegetable consumption?
Logic would lead us to think that this decrease in meat and fish in the diet implies an increase in the sale of fresh fruits and vegetables, but the data indicate the opposite trend. Figures released by the sector organization FEPEX show that the kilos of fruit and vegetables consumed in Spain have been on the decline since 2014. In that year the quantities totaled 8,416 million kilos, which in 2021 fell to 7,881 million. Data for 2022, collected up to October, reach 5,868 million kilos; consumption was already 12.9% below that recorded in the same period of the previous year. This decrease was 14.3% for vegetables and 12.3% for fresh fruit.
The organization notes that in these period there was only an increase in consumption in 2020, which is attributed to confinement due to the pandemic, but the following year consumption declines again.
In Europe as a whole, Freshfel also showed a downward trend in fresh produce, especially vegetables. The average intake of fresh produce stands at 364 g/person/day in 2021, a figure that could fall by around 10% by 2022.
A 2019 Eurostat study shows that only 12% of EU consumers reach five servings a day and, alarmingly, 33% do not eat fruit and vegetables every day.
Why is that?
The reasons for this trend are both consumer habits and economic. On the one hand, there are segments of the young population that tend to reject some types or varieties of fresh foods.
On the other, the tendency not to eat meat does lead to the search for alternative protein sources, of which there is an increasing variety. In the formulation of these alternative foods there are vegetable proteins, but fruit and vegetables are no longer consumed in their original state.
Freshfel's analysis also concludes that inflation is behind this reduction in consumption in general and that there is a perception that fresh products make the purchase ticket more expensive. Organic products are the ones that are reducing their presence in the shopping basket the most. The price is now more decisive because of the increase in other household costs, such as energy.
However, according to Freshfel, the perception is not accurate, "compared to other food categories, price increases for fruit and vegetables have been lower than average inflation. A diet of five portions a day or half of the plate containing fruit and vegetables can be achieved for 1 or 2 euros per person per day," says Philippe Binard, general delegate of the European association.
Source: Expansión