Research: Meat alternatives gaining in popularity but not denting beef sales; poultry and fish may be another story

Plant-based meat alternatives have been growing in popularity for years, with global sales expected to top $30 billion by 2026. That has meat and poultry producers and processors nervous, spurring bills and laws to segregate such products in the grocery store.

But, a recently published study shows, beef and pork producers don't have to worry—at least not yet. Poultry and fish producers may have cause for concern though. Researchers analyzed Nielsen sales data from U.S. grocery and convenience stores from 2017-2020 and found that only a small percentage of consumers have tried meat analogues. They also found that "consumers were often purchasing plant-based meat alternatives alongside beef and pork and instead used the plant-based meat alternatives as a substitute for chicken, turkey and fish," Katie Pratt reports for the University of Kentucky's College of Agriculture, Food and Environment.

Though meat analogue sales have grown more than 200% since the beginning of the pandemic, one of the researchers told Pratt that such foods only make up 0.5% of the fresh meat market share. The study, which was funded by the National Institutes of Health’s National Center for Advancing Translational Sciences, was recently published in Applied Economics Perspectives and Policy; read it here.