Last week, it was announced that supermarket Sainsbury’s will be working with the University of Oxford and the Wellcome Trust on research aimed at encouraging customers to eat a healthier, more environmentally benign diet.

Part of the Our Planet, Our Health programme - which will encourage customers to consume more fruit and vegetables, rather than meat - has attracted the ire of farming unions.

Measures designed to encourage healthier eating include putting vegetarian options nearer to meat in stores, sharing healthy vegetarian recipes and offering reward points for customers who choose vegetarian products.

Dr Marco Springmann, who is working with Sainsbury’s and is a post-doctoral researcher with the Oxford Martin Programme for the Future of Food said last year, “Imbalanced diets, such as diets low in fruits and vegetables, and high in red and processed meat, are responsible for the greatest health burden globally and in most regions. At the same time the food system is also responsible for more than a quarter of all greenhouse gas emissions, and therefore a major driver of climate change.”

However, the NFU has accused the retailer of pushing an “Anti-meat agenda” over its support for the programme. NFU livestock board chair Charles Sercombe said, “The NFU has major concerns over the anti-meat agenda that Sainsbury’s is pursuing in its recent involvement with in-store trials attempting to change customer buying habits.”

Sercombe said the NFU contests expert analysis linking higher levels of meat consumption with greenhouse gas emissions and climate change, and public health impacts.

He said, “Many farmers have worked with Sainsbury’s closely to reduce their carbon footprints. The high-quality meat products produced by British livestock farmers are naturally rich in protein and are a good source of iron, zinc and essential vitamins. Unfortunately, the positive role red meat plays in a healthy, balanced diet is often overlooked.”

He added, “We are seeking urgent talks with Sainsbury’s to ensure all British produce can have pride of place on their shelves for customers to make up their own mind about what they buy.”

On Tuesday, a Sainsbury’s spokesperson denied that the supermarket is anti-meat. The spokesperson said, “The NFU has clearly misunderstood the purpose of the research that we will be embarking upon with the University of Oxford. We can reassure them that we are not anti-meat in any way.
 
“We recognise that our customers have a wide range of dietary requirements. The research will examine how we can encourage long term sustainable and healthy eating habits. This does not exclude meat and we are pleased to clear up any confusion.”
 
Sainsbury’s is no stranger to courting controversy where farming interests are concerned; former CEO Justin King dropped the Red Tractor logo (which denotes British production) from the supermarket’s packaging, arguing that the scheme set its environmental and animal welfare standards too low, and claiming that industry-wide schemes like Red Tractor "are the refuge of scoundrels.”