© Richard M Lee // Shutterstock.comLidl supermarket in Epsom, UK, 12 April 2022. Chief buyer announces firm's move away from meat as there is 'no second planet'.
The German retailer will transition toward plant-based options due to environmental concern, according to Plant Based News.
During Berlin's Green Week, agri-food trade fair, Christoph Graf, chief buyer of Lidl, talked about the supermarket group's future in the meatless industry. He reportedly said that there is 'no alternative' to reducing meat options in Lidl as there is 'no second planet'.
Graf reportedly claimed this will allow people more access to cost-effective alternative proteins and should be treated as a positive decision.
ProVeg, a vegan food awareness organisation, praised Lidl's announcement.
Stephanie Jaczniakowska-McGirr, its director of corporate engagement, said: "Lidl has taken a bold and necessary step to help consumers transition to a more plant-based diet. Animal agriculture is responsible for 20% of global greenhouse gas emissions and shifting to plant-based diets is an effective way to reduce those emissions.
Comment: Lidl doesn't claim that customers actually asked for any help 'transitioning'. Further, agriculture geared towards veganism is one of the most harmful practises possible, both to the earth and to the consumer's health.
"We urge other retailers to follow in the footsteps of Lidl and actively increase their plant-based offerings to support the growing number of people following flexitarian, vegetarian and vegan diets."
Comment: Less than 8% of the UK are vegetarians; let's hope these numbers are soon reflected in Lidl's profits.
However, meat industry organisations have spoken out against Lidl's move..
Speaking to Just Food, Nick Allen, CEO of the British Meat Processors Association (BMPA) said: "Whilst retailers are claiming the motivation for moving more towards plant-based is about the sustainability of these products, which in some cases has been shown to be questionable, we suspect the main motivation is the fact that the profit margin on marketing plant-based products is far higher than that for marketing meat products.
"It should also concern shoppers that some of the highly-processed [plant-based meat products] simply don't have the same nutritional profile of the real thing."
Comment: Since the establishment's behavioural engineers have failed to convince people to eat less meat, the next step to destroy people's health, is to simply remove meat from the shelves.
The agenda is all the more obvious because this follows the brazen attacks on farmers, food plant processor sabotage, as well as the push to get people to eat parasite-riddled insects; which recently hit a new low with the EU's approval to allow food manufacturers to use bugs in the produce:
- Officially approved by the EU: Four insects hiding in your food
- UK egg shortage caused by supermarkets refusing to pay production price, farmers warn shortages will worsen
- Vegetable shortage threatens UK as supermarkets refuse to pay local farmers increased costs of production
Also check out SOTT radio's: Behind the Headlines: Dissecting the Vegetarian Myth - Interview with Lierre KeithAnd next up for the UK - note that this isn't happening in China: