MEAT MATTERS
MEAT
CONFERENCE
The New Zealand
Red Meat Sector
Conference is an
opportunity to collect
insights that apply
globally in a single gathering. With
a uniquely top-down perspective,
this event provided the knowhow
to navigate the red meat
geopolitical landscape for the
next 18 months. Topics like Brexit,
United States’ President Trump and
China/USA trade wars, alternative
meat products and other seismic
shifts in the red meat industry were
all key discussions.
The even provided the opportunity
for all to keep on top of industry
knowledge and trends and spend
time with industry contacts. Here,
we share some of their leanings
and insights from the event.
Climate change
Knowing the impact made
by the red meat industry on
climate change, it can be easy
to scapegoat this key industry.
John Loughlin, chair of the Meat
Industry Association presented
an alternative perspective. It
took into account the nuanced
interdependencies of both NZ
economy and people in the red
meat industry. John acknowledged
that climate change is the defining
challenge of our time and the need
to reconcile the needs of our planet
and the industry. While the needs
of the planet cannot be ignored for
the sake of future generations, the
needs of the industry equally must
be considered for putting food on
the table in the near term.
Alternative meats
Professor Fredric Leroy from Vrije
University in Brussels presented
on the future of meat from the
perspective of alternative meat
products. Prof. Leroy saw that
alternative meats are “on a mission
to make meat redundant and
gaining traction”.
The professor pondered whether
the “ultra-processed” foods are
actually the future of food. While
one can point to a wide range of
products already on the market
which are ultra-processed the
professor points to the “ick factor”
of lab grown meat as a serious
stumbling block for industry
growth.
To understand the question of
ultra-processed vs natural meat
products we look to parallels
in caged vs free-range eggs.
Converting strategic intelligence into effective tactical
decision making has been perfected to an art-form in
the New Zealand red meat sector. With the success of
international strategies resting entirely on the ability to
predict future geopolitical situations, Wiley’s Rachael
Hedges was on hand to take stock of geopolitical trends
the world over and see how the sector can maintain a
competitive edge.
12 OCTOBER 2019