Climate Concerns Whet Appetite For Veggie Burgers In South Africa

By: Trademagazin editor Date: 2022. 11. 16. 09:30

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In South Africa, a country where ‘braai’ all-day barbecuing is a national pastime, plant-based substitutes are making surprising inroads despite a deep cultural love of meat and hostility from the regulator.

That could be heartening for climate scientists, who say shifting diets from emissions-heavy meat and dairy towards more plant-based foods is vital to the fight against climate change.

Plant-based meat substitutes are growing by 6.5% a year and sales are expected to reach $561 million by 2023, according to Research and Markets – more than half Africa’s share of a global market forecast to hit $162 billion by 2030.

That is still pretty niche – South Africans spent $15 billion on meat products in 2018 and is now the world’s 9th biggest per capita consumer of beef.

The shift has so unnerved South Africa’s processed meat industry that in June it lobbed for – and got – a government ban on plant-based products using words like ‘nugget’, ‘sausage’ or ‘burger’ on packaging.

The agriculture department at the time said the move was aimed at preventing consumer confusion. A spokesperson did not respond to repeated requests for comment.

ESM