Pork will thrive in the changing world of food options. That was the message Sylvain Charlebois brought to the Saskatchewan Pork Industry Symposium on Nov. 13 in Saskatoon.
“There is this overwhelming plant-based rhetoric that is affecting lots of people. It is affecting how people see meat, how they relate to meat and they wonder what the future is for meat,” said Charlebois, a professor in Food Distribution and Policy at Dalhousie University in Halifax. “For the last 18 months/two years, the meat industry really has been under siege. The last time I was in Saskatchewan was to talk to cattle producers in Regina and it felt like a funeral; people were down.”
Cattle and pork producers are feeling much better now that China has lifted its ban on Canadian protein products.
“They need your pigs. They need our meat. It is as simple as that,” Charlebois said. “There are 1.4 billion people to feed; they have a pork reserve for goodness sake. Pork is important to them; Canadian pork is important to them.
“The issue here is globalization. How do you sell and promote pork? I do see pork as being a resilient meat. It is cheap protein. Even the UN agrees that the fibre to protein conversion is very efficient with pigs. You guys are in a good spot, not just Canada wide, but globally.”
Charlebois said the market is changing.
“The majority of people consider themselves as regular people. They eat anything and everything, but what has been happening in the past few years is that the market is becoming more fragmented than ever.”
He said more people are now flexitarians, described as primarily vegetarians.
He said these people might, for example, have a meatless Monday and/or a meatless Friday, and then race to the barbecue on Saturday, for example.
“Ninety-one per cent of Canadians eat meat on a regular basis. They are people out there who love bacon. I love bacon. How can you live without bacon? Seriously. But some people choose not to and we have to reflect that.”
“Vegetarian is a growing market. Consumers are looking for different options every single day. They will go for beef, they will go for pork, chicken and sometimes they will go plant-based.”
Charlebois said by 2025 there will be 10 million Canadians who will reduce the amount of meat they eat or will get rid of meat altogether.
“Ten million and that’s growing. It is essentially because of flexitarians. Does that scare you? It does?”
He asked producers to give him 20 minutes to explain why this is good news for them.
“You not only have a role to play in providing protein to consumers, your role will change and will probably be much more powerful than ever.”
Despite the wishful thinking of many in the livestock industry, Charlebois said plant-based products are not going to disappear.
McDonald’s, a champion of Canadian agriculture, is trying Beyond Meat products in 29 locations in southern Ontario. Burger King is going ahead with a plant-based product, Charlebois said.
“When a company like McDonald’s is looking at Beyond Meat that is a biggie for me. When McDonald’s sneezes, it affects everything.”

Charlebois said more and more companies are thinking that way.
“If I don’t have something on the menu that can’t include everyone in the group, I am going to lose that group. They are going to go somewhere else. The economics are pretty strong there. That is why more companies like McDonald’s are looking at different options. A plant-based product on the menu is part of the strategy to support growth.”
Maple Leaf Foods is moving into the market, creating a division to support plant-based sales.
“They are not moving away from animal proteins, but they are hedging. They are looking at the entire market place. I believe plant-based sales at Maple Leaf are not even $100 million right now, but it is going to grow; it’s not going to disappear. I think you will see companies like Maple Leaf reposition pork, chicken and products like that. In the eyes of consumers, it is a natural product; it’s a non-processed product. They are not saying no to you; they are just providing options.”
Charlebois says Beyond Meat has 27 ingredients.
“It is a processed product. For 11 years now, since they started in 2008, they were infatuated with the idea that they had to become better than beef. In my mind, it was never about replicating beef. If people want to eat something that tastes like beef, that looks like beef, why aren’t they eating beef? They painted themselves into a bit of a corner.”
He said consumers can’t be fooled. Information is easily accessible and reputable science is being done.
“They will realize 27 ingredients; how does that work?”
He said there are products being designed to replicate pork.
“I actually saw a company looking at manufacturing bacon. It would taste like bacon made out of seaweed. How, my God, do you do that? Bacon of the Sea?”
Charlebois said affordability is on the side of pork producers.
“You guys have a huge advantage — two patties for eight bucks for Beyond Meat, are you serious? Do you know why Beyond Meat is so expensive? It is pretty simple. If your goal is to replicate exactly what beef does, those 27 ingredients cost money. If you want to replicate what pork does, it’s the same thing. That’s why I think over time this market will mature and plant-based products will be seen very, very differently.
“I know it is hard to believe right now, because we have all been hardwired to think about stomach share, not about perceived value. Pork has value, plant-based products have value, and beef has value. You are now part of a much larger portfolio of proteins for the consumer, instead of being part of that trifecta of meat.
“That’s the difference compared to just a few years ago. How distinctive you are is going to be key. Nothing is going to change. Think of all the recipes Canadians have prepared in their kitchens which use pork. The demand is there; that’s not going to change.
That is why he tells groups like the producers at the Saskatchewan Symposium to embrace change.
“This is good for you because the relations people have with food is changing. It is not boring anymore. People want to invest in food; they are questioning food; they want to know where it comes from and how it’s produced.
“As we look to the next five to 10 years, I believe we are going to get smarter. You guys are the constant. You are there and you are going to remain in the game. Others around will be perceived very differently.
“I know the hog industry is a tough one. It is a business of ups and downs. I do think the consumer you are going to be serving tomorrow is going to be very different than the one you have been serving for at least the last two decades.
“You are going to make money.” •
— By Cam Hutchinson