Why red meat producers must listen to the younger generation.

The Markets is a monthly segment on The Country where host Jamie Mackay interviews a guest about red meat export markets. Recently he caught up with Anne-Marie Roerink, a US-based analyst and author of the annual report “The Power of Meat”, to take a closer look at what the industry needs to do now to ensure a prosperous future.

Meat is big business and here to stay, although producers will need to start listening to the younger generation, according to Roerink. Her 19th annual “The Power of Meat” report was released this year and provides insights from 1730 grocery shoppers between 18 and 75 years of age and is the “go-to” read for key retail executives across the US.

Roerink told Mackay that it was “incredibly important” to understand meat shoppers, so everybody involved in the supply chain kept up to date with the “ever-changing” needs and wants of the consumer. For example, even though vegetarianism and veganism are supposedly on the rise, 98% of American households eat meat.

Roerink noted that survey results depend heavily on how questions are framed. “A lot of surveys will ask ‘do you eat vegan food?’ The answer to that – even for me as a big meat eater – is yes. But when you actually look at never ever eating meat or poultry throughout the year, we are looking at just a handful of households.

“So, when you look on the retail side alone, 98% of households buy meat at least once a year.” She put this down to a “growing positivity” towards the meat industry and consuming meat, mainly because of the “power of protein”.

Roerink said one generation starting to appreciate that power was Gen Z, but they still had concerns about meat. Born between 1997 and 2012, Gen Z is starting to gain more spending power. Roerink said producers, retailers and marketers were going to have to shift their operations to cater to these younger consumers.

“When you look at those younger generations, many of them do have a little bit of guilt when it relates to eating meat, and poultry as well,” Roerink said. “And the reasons for that lie in [concerns around] is it actually good for me? Is it good for the environment? How about that animal – did it suffer?”

Roerink said letting them know the story behind the meat was something the industry needed to work on. “No one is as trusted as the rancher or farmer who truly takes care of their animals and land, often for generations – and probably will for generations to come. Getting in on that game and giving people the confidence that everything we do is for the animal, giving it a good life, taking care of our land that has been in our family for so long. That is what will change the attitude of the young consumer as it relates to eating meat.”

Roerink said younger consumers were turning to chicken, believing it was a more ethical and environmentally friendly choice. She believed this was because of a lack of confidence in preparing and cooking red meat, along with a growing US interest in ethnic global cuisine which often called for chicken in recipes.

“It’s something that we need to address and make sure that people understand that there’s more than just ground beef.”