Eating plant-based: We want to, but we don't

Dutch people are open to replacing dairy, meat and eggs with plant-based alternatives, but their behaviour does not always show it. So in this case too, wanting is not automatically doing, according to the Agrifood Monitor 2022.

The investigated behavioural factors motivation, capacity and opportunity show that the Dutch mainly lack the capacity (knowledge and skills) to use plant-based alternatives. For instance, they do not know how to cook with them, adapt recipes or follow a balanced diet. In general, they also experience little social pressure from their environment to eat plant-based alternatives.

Appreciation sectors: positive, but stabilising

The Dutch continue to be positive about the agri-food sector, but the upward trend of recent years is not continuing. Horticulture and arable farming are rated most positively, followed by dairy farming, supermarkets, fisheries and the food industry. Poultry farming and pig farming are rated least positively. 

Sustainability as a food value

Dutch people consider sustainable food values important, but values aimed at personal benefit appear to be even more important. In particular, they consider taste, freshness, safety, reliability, affordability and health important. The most important sustainable values according to consumers are avoiding food waste, fairness, natural, animal-friendly and transparency.

Sustainability at sector level

In general, consumers trust the sustainability of products from different sectors. This factor plays a minor role in explaining societal appreciation of the agri-food sector. Dutch people perceive that sectors are committed to sustainability. In general, all sectors score high on quality standards and fair prices according to consumers. Consumers also see differences between sectors. For instance, they find efforts on animal welfare relatively more applicable to animal sectors. Supermarkets score relatively high on recycling and preventing waste. The latter (wastage) is something that consumers feel the food industry is relatively strongly committed to in addition to supermarkets.

Impact farmer protests and Ukraine war

To properly interpret the differences in appreciation over time, the impact of current events was also examined. The monitor shows that the war in Ukraine impresses consumers more than the farmers' protests, but that the war has no effect on the appreciation of the Dutch agri-food sector. Consumers generally indicate that they have continued to buy almost the same amount of food since the war in Ukraine played out, but slightly more local products and cheaper alternatives than usual. 

View the Agrifoodmonitor 2022
Wur.nl

The fieldwork for the Agrifood Monitor was conducted in July 2022; developments since then regarding the war, farmers' protests and purchasing power are not included.