Meat Bosses Launch Pro-Beef Campaign As Vegan Meals Skyrocket

Meat bosses in Scotland have joined forces to launch a £500,000 pro-beef campaign, as interest in vegan and meat-free living grows.

According to the Know Your Beef campaign, which has been developed by Quality Meat Scotland (QMS), it will ‘push back on recent unbalanced, and often inaccurate coverage [of beef] by the media’.

Pro-beef campaign

“The new campaign presented an excellent opportunity to communicate the facts about quality beef production and deliver an all-industry push back on recent unbalanced, and often inaccurate, coverage by some parts of the media,” Quality Meat Scotland’s Director of Marketing and Communications, Carol McLaren, said.

“There is no-one better placed to tell the story of our industry and share pride in the Scotch Beef brand than the people who work hard to produce a top-quality product and genuinely ‘know their beef’.

“So we asked the whole industry for help with the new campaign and we have been overwhelmed by the positive response. We were delighted that farmers, butchers, chefs, auctioneers, quality assurance assessors and representatives from the veterinary, processing and haulage sectors as well as a Scottish SPCA inspector offered their time to take part in the TV advert.”

Vegan meals

The campaign follows news that growing numbers of omnivore Brits are opting for vegan meals for a range of reasons including health, ethical, and environmental reasons. A staggering 92 percent of plant-based meals consumed last year in the UK were eaten by non-vegans, according to data from market insight company Kantar.

The organization says that ‘plant-based meal occasions’ (i.e. a main meal where animal products are present) have grown 37 percent in the last four years and are now eaten by 10 percent of the population.

These consumers are ‘very engaged with the lifestyle’, according to Kantar, which added: “[They] are choosing to eat plant-based meals three times a week, on average. As this group of consumers grows, it is important to consider the motivations of the consumer. Crucially, most plant-based consumers are not vegans but those who are choosing to somewhat reduce their meat and dairy intake.”