At the request of animal welfare organization Wakker Dier, 9 well-known brands are adapting the recipe on their packaging to vegetarian or vegan. Since consumers often follow the recipe on the packaging, Wakker Dier sees this adjustment as a good way to reduce the overconsumption of meat..
Make plant-based eating easier
Currently exists average 43 percent of the protein consumption of Dutch people from vegetable sources. A diet with 60 percent vegetable proteins is better for the environment and healthier for people,says the Health Council. The Health Council calls on companies to make plant-based eating easier. Because meals in packages and bags are intended to inspire with simple dishes, they can also help consumers to choose plant-based more often, Wakker Dier thought.
80 percent of recipes contain meat or fish
The animal welfare organization investigated the use of meat in packets and bags recipes in supermarkets. To this end, Wakker Dier analyzed 657 recipes on product packaging, including meal mixes and fresh food packages, for the presence and recommended amount of meat and fish. More than 80 percent of all recipes on packages and bags contained meat or fish as an added ingredient. Wakker Dier found that in a quarter of the recipes with red meat studied, a larger portion is recommended than what is in line with the Nutrition Center’s advice. This also applies to 60 percent of recipes with processed meat. Eating too much red or processed meat is known to increase the risk of diseases such as colon cancer, type 2 diabetes and stroke.
Hundreds of recipes adapted
As a result of the research, hundreds of recipes on packaging will be adjusted to vegetarian or plant-based. The brands Conimex, Fairtrade Original, Jumbo, Knorr, Koh Tai, Patak’s and Plus adapt their packaging to vegetarian recipes upon request, so that half of their recipes become vegetarian. This is already the case at Grand’Italia and Lassie. Albert Heijn and Maggi also have plans to add plant-based tips to recipes, but they do not remove meat and fish from half of their recipes. Honig is the only one that has indicated that it will not make any adjustments.
Source: Awake animal
