The Scientific Director with Dalhousie University suggests, as the competition among the various proteins heats up, pork will retain the advantage of being natural, unprocessed and affordable. "Fake Meat Madness and Pork's Resilience" was among the topics discussed in Saskatoon as part of Saskatchewan Pork Industry Symposium 2019.
Dr. Sylvain Charlebois, the Scientific Director with Dalhousie University, says for decades pork, beef and chicken dominated the protein markets but now, for a variety of resasons, whether it's sustainability, animal welfare or even health, the market is changing.
Clip-Dr. Sylvain Charlebois-Dalhousie University:
I would say that the younger generations are driving the agenda a little bit when it comes to motives, the planet, animal welfare and things like that. The boomers are mostly interested in the health aspect of things so they'll actually shop around for different sources of protein just because they think it's healthier.
I do see pork having a bright future just because it is a natural product, unprocessed and a lot of Canadians are still looking for that kind of product. For the pork indiustry I think it's a great opporunity because you're going to be engaging a different public, a public that is in transition.
The consumer of tomorrow will actually be eating out a lot more often. How do you position your product in a way that you can serve a consumer that is on the go, eating alone, eating four or five times a day, snacking? There are different opportunities and pork has the advantage of being affordable and could be included in many portable and affordable solutions because price is always key.
Source : Farmscape