We all ate fewer meatballs, bacon, steak and chicken legs last year than the year before. Brabant butchers have an idea why this happens. They themselves say they don’t really notice this decline. “The fact that people consciously choose something good is only better.” Typical Brabant products such as balkenbrij, black pudding and will also remain in demand.
Research by the University of Wageningen shows that in 2024 we used an average of 74.4 kilos of meat (including bone) per person. A decrease of half a kilo compared to a year earlier. This brings meat consumption to the lowest level since the measurements started in 2005.
It is not clear from the figures why people have started eating less meat. After studying various studies on meat consumption, researcher Hans Dagevos has an idea. “It may have to do with health or fundamental issues that play a role. In addition, meat has become more expensive.”
Dennis van Dun of Van Roessel Slagerij en Traiteur in Waalwijk says he has an explanation for the slight decrease in meat consumption. “The long-standing anti-meat lobby. That certainly plays a role in this trend.”
“In addition, meat has certainly become considerably more expensive in the last six months,” says Van Dun. “About thirty percent. People look for confidence in meat. The fact that people consciously choose something good is only better.”
According to the Waalwijk butcher, there is a clear reason why meat has become more expensive: scarcity. “The supply of beef has certainly decreased. But you also see that pig companies are stopping due to the current legislation. As a result, the price is also rising.”
“Consumers no longer trust the supermarket.”
Butcher Jan Goos in Etten-Leur has another reason why people sometimes don’t opt for a meatball or a piece of bacon. “Consumers no longer have confidence in the supermarket. I do believe that consumption is declining slightly across the board. People are increasingly aware of what they eat,” says Jan Goos.
“But people who like meat buy more. I have the feeling that people who eat less meat are more likely to be in the Randstad. Farm shops, like the one we have, have really taken off. You see that supermarkets are now opting for local meat more, but in my opinion they should have done that much earlier.”
“Because many butchers are dropping out, my turnover is only increasing.”
According to butcher Danny Megens from Eindhoven, his customers consciously choose local, quality meat. “People are more conscious about meat, so we have to be too. We don’t notice it in our store that people eat less meat for a day. You see the kilo-crackers falling over. That is no longer feasible. The prices of meat are too expensive. So many rules have been introduced that it is becoming more difficult and expensive to do business. Because many butchers are dropping out as a result, my turnover is only increasing.”
“To preserve the butcher’s craft, we will continue to make products such as beam mash, black pudding and will.”
According to the butchers, the fact that meat consumption is declining does not mean that typical Brabant products such as balkenbrij, black pudding and will soon no longer be on the counters. Dennis van Dun: “Balkenbrij is really a niche product. We don’t sell large quantities of it, about fifteen kilos per week, I think.”
But it is a conscious choice for Van Dun to continue making it. His balkenbrij was voted the best in the Netherlands this year. “Butchery is truly a craft. To preserve the butcher’s craft, we continue to make and offer products such as skewers, black pudding and pudding.”
Danny Megens also continues to make beams himself. “It really is a traditional product. I notice that it is available in fewer places. Its consumption is also less. The youth do not know it and do not eat it. It still sells well, but not as it used to. Back then you made a portion of fifty kilos every week. If the demand really becomes too little, the time will come when we have to stop using it. But then other products will take their place.”
“Twenty years ago, I thought black pudding was going to disappear completely.”
In Etten-Leur, lovers of sausage and black pudding can ‘normally’ go to Jan Goos. To the slight surprise of Goos himself. “We no longer sell in the numbers we did thirty or forty years ago. But I expected it to be even less. I thought black pudding would disappear completely twenty years ago, but we are selling more and more of it. I notice that there is more demand for it, especially in the catering industry.”