Week Without Meat: mainly marketing

The Week without Meat is not a social initiative, but is mainly a promotional week for vegetable products.

There are now quite a few commercial parties involved from the vegetable sector. For example, 'social & sustainable' profiling mainly serves its own marketing goals, where other producers and retailers can hitch a ride for a week.

The COV sees and understands the general tenor that groups in society are concerned about the availability of raw materials, the welfare of farm animals and the environment. However, passing on the consumption of meat from everything around the environment continues. There are various activities with less primary benefit and more negative impact, such as global air travel, which apparently does not score so easily.

Sustainability concerns in the meat sector last longer than a week and are an everyday responsibility throughout the year. The Pig of Tomorrow, the Better Life Quality Mark and the organic segment are leading standards. The Dutch meat sector is circular in processing residual flows and supplying by-products. Dutch producers work in a socially responsible way, and with a relatively low footprint, Dutch meat is internationally distinctive.

COV is concerned that parties no longer (want to) properly assess the health of meat. No product with such a high nutritional value as meat: it is bursting with building materials such as vitamins, minerals, good fats, iron, zinc. In fact, it is not socially responsible to go beyond the nutritional aspects because of a 'social & sustainable profile' and commercial interests.