Northern Ireland-based grassland technical manager and beef farmer Gary Spence has published his Nuffield Farming report 'I can't believe it's not beef! Can livestock compete with alternative proteins?', sponsored by The Thomas Henry Foundation.

The full report is now available on the Nuffield Farming report library. A recording of Gary presenting his findings at the Nuffield Farming Conference can be found here.

During his Scholarship, Gary travelled to Australia, Ireland and the USA, while also conducting virtual interviews in New Zealand, the Netherlands, Switzerland, Finland, and Germany.

In his report, Gary said: "Livestock production and meat consumption has been under intense scrutiny in recent years, being labelled as a major contributor to climate change and associated with negative impacts on human health. This has led to the development of a plant-based meat alternative industry which has been hailed as a major solution to climate change and improved human health."

During his Scholarship, Gary explored how the livestock industry can adapt to changing consumer demands and how best to market red meat products. He focused on identifying consumer concerns, including welfare, environment, cost, and product quality, and established how to respond to these concerns.

"For a successful future, the UK red meat industry must take account of changing demands and react and build a resilient supply-chain focused on animal welfare, environmentally friendly products reducing climate impact while also improving wider biodiversity and water quality," said Gary.

He recommended a focus on meat eating quality and consistency: "The United States and Australia have both implemented technologies to reward beef producers which have improved eating quality characteristics, and this study recommends that a similar approach should be taken in the UK.

"Each producer should review their business to identify and capitalise on their strengths, to produce beef in a way that is resilient to extremes and produce products that meet consumer demand," concluded Gary.

Study objectives

• Determine what concerns consumers have around red meat consumption.
• Investigate the strengths and weaknesses of alternative protein technologies.
• Make recommendations to the industry to ensure beef stays on our plates.

Key messages

1. The alternative protein industry faces as may challenges as the beef industry.
2. Animal welfare in the UK is good but there is still room for improvement.
3. There are many ways to reduce beef's impact on the environment.
4. Technology exists to grade beef quality to ensure consumers get consistency in beef products.
5. We can do more to communicate our story to consumers and market beef products.