Vegetables more expensive than meat? – The world has turned upside down in the food market

The era of “saving without meat” is over

For a long time, it was self-evident that if someone wanted to cook cheaper, they would leave meat out of their meals. The price of vegetables and fruits was lower, as they required fewer processing steps – unlike multi-step meat production. However, in recent years, consumers have increasingly found that a kilo of peppers, strawberries or cherries can be much more expensive than meat.

There are not only economic but also social reasons for this. In the past, a significant number of families grew their own vegetables and fruits in their gardens, on their weekend plots or hobby plots. However, with the decline in home-based supply, shopping in stores has become common – and the associated costs have also arrived.

Abundant supply, yet prices are rising

Although almost all types of fruit and vegetables are now available in stores all year round, the production and transport of out-of-season products are costly. The energy and logistics requirements of tomatoes grown in a heated greenhouse or strawberries imported from afar far exceed those of summer outdoor production. In addition, seasonally produced quantities can also decrease for climatic reasons, so prices continue to rise.

At the same time, consumers are buying smaller and smaller quantities – while their overall spending is increasing. The logic of the market is simple: if there is less of something, but there is demand for it, its price will go up. This is especially true in the fruit and vegetable sector during seasons with poor harvests.

Climate change, energy prices, labor shortage

According to artificial intelligence, climate change is primarily behind the price increase. Extreme weather events – such as spring frost, hail, drought or sudden rainfall – cause serious losses in open-field crop production. If the yield is lower but demand does not decrease, prices automatically move upwards.

Greenhouse cultivation is not a cheaper alternative either: the energy costs of heating, lighting and irrigation have increased drastically since the energy crisis. The horticultural sector is also struggling with a labor shortage, production is labor-intensive, and wages are also rising. Plant production can therefore now be more expensive than producing a kilo of meat on an industrialized pig or poultry farm.