ProVeg International, WWF, and the Green Protein Alliance have called on food retailers to set targets to help “rebalance” food sales towards plant-based foods.
The NGOs want companies to align their targets with the ‘planetary health diet’. The split between plant-based and animal-based foods in this diet is around 70% plant to 30% animal when all food groups are included, and 60% plant to 40% animal when focusing only on the protein sources.
“To understand and enhance their contribution to the uptake of healthy, sustainable diets, food companies need to assess the volumes of protein foods sold and the balance between plant and animal protein foods in their offerings,” the groups said in a call to action published this week. “This will require setting protein split goals and tracking progress toward these goals.”
The call to action comes during a busy period for corporate action on sustainable diets: WWF published its new and improved Planet-based Diets Retail Methodology, which is aimed at helping retailers understand how the food they’re selling aligns with healthy sustainable diets.
“We know that intensive agriculture is the number one driver of the catastrophic decline of wildlife and nature, so promoting healthy, sustainable dietary choices is key,” said Mariella Meyer, senior manager, sustainable markets, WWF-Switzerland. “In countries where animal-source foods are over-consumed, food retailers can lead the way by rebalancing their products.”
Meanwhile, Lidl GB has announced that it is more than tripling the number of plant-based products that it offers shoppers, with the newly expanded range set to appear in selected stores from this month, ahead of completing a national roll out by January 2025.
“Meat, poultry and dairy play an important role in our diets, which is why we’re investing heavily in British farming to ensure that our suppliers are set up for future growth, and customers have access to the best quality British produce,” explained Richard Bourns, Lidl GB chief commercial officer. “At the same time, we know that as a society we need to incorporate more plant-based foods into our diets to ensure balance. That’s why we are proudly standing behind the planetary health diet, which is key to achieving a more healthy and sustainable future and supports our net-zero ambitions.”
Earlier this month Lidl set new greenhouse gas targets: by 2030 the discounter will reduce its absolute scope 1 and 2 emissions by 70% (versus 2019), while by 2034 absolute scope 3 agriculture, forestry, and other land use (FLAG) emissions will be cut 42.4% (versus 2022).
Lidl announced new work to reduce emissions in its beef supply chain but it’s the protein split that has caught the eye of campaigners. Aiming for 25% of total protein sales to come from plants by 2030 is comparable to the Dutch retailer targets of 60% plant by 2030, with the latter covering the whole food assortment while Lidl is focused on protein-source foods, explained Joanna Trewern, director of partnerships and institutional engagement at Proveg International.
The Netherlands is leading the way when it comes to reporting on protein splits: over 90% of the Dutch food retail market is tracking protein split according to the Protein Tracker methodology, developed by the Green Protein Alliance and ProVeg Netherlands. Major retailers in Belgium, Germany, and Austria have also adopted methodologies to track their protein split goals.
In the UK, food retailers have been tracking protein food sales and progress toward protein split goals for several years as part of the WWF Basket. For the 2024 reporting period, nine retailers, representing over 80% of the major UK supermarkets, have adopted the same methodology to report on protein food sales, including Tesco, Sainsbury’s, Waitrose, Coop, M&S, Lidl and Aldi. Currently, five UK retailers publicly report their protein food sales split.
