Higher prices may cause Canadians to rethink relationship with meat

Dalhousie’s Sylvain Charlebois says pescetarianism and flexitarianism is on the rise

CITYnews halifax \ Meghan Groff

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Higher prices at the grocery store may have some Canadians rethinking their relationship with meat.

“If you go to the meat counter, it’s getting expensive,” said Sylvain Charlebois.

The director of Dalhousie University’s Agri-Food Analytics Lab said that may drive some people to look for alternatives.

“And of course when people start to cook with new ingredients and they get accustomed to those new ingredients, it’s absolutely much more difficult to get them back,” he told CityNews Halifax.

“The meat trifecta — chicken, pork and beef — is going to stick around for a while, but there are factors out there getting Canadians to think differently about proteins.”

In addition to high prices, Charlebois said those factors include animal welfare, environmental impacts and a desire to make healthier choices.

And for those interested in shifting their habits, there are more options than ever.

“There is this plant-based movement, but there’s also a movement related to vegetable proteins,” he stated.

He said one is associated with products like Beyond Meat and Impossible Foods, which are designed to replace meat.

“But vegetable proteins are becoming more socially acceptable, lentils and chickpeas that are being sold at grocery stores … more and more Canadians are actually buying those products.”

The Agri-Food Analytics Lab estimates there are between 450,000 and 600,000 vegans in Canada and over one million vegetarians.

“The one diet that is getting traction is pescetarianism. Pescetarians would be people who don’t eat land-based proteins, but will eat fish and eggs,” Charlebois explained.

“We estimate that over 3 million Canadians are pescetarians.”

He said flexitarianism is also on the rise. That’s when people make an effort to decrease how much meat they eat, but not eliminate it all together.

Charlebois doesn’t expect to see large crowds flocking to strict meatless diets, in fact, he said 91 per cent of us still eat meat on a regular basis, but he does think a change is underway.

“I think we’re seeing the start of a bit of a revolution when it comes to proteins to be honest,” he said. “I think number related to non-animal protein diets will continue to rise.”