Meat Consumption (Hansard, 17 January 1985)

§ 11. Sir Peter Mills
asked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what discussions he has had with the chairman of the Meat Promotion Executive relating to trends in meat consumption in the United Kingdom.

§ Mr. MacGregor
None direct, although there is continuing close contact at ministerial and official level with the Meat and Livestock Commission, which has overall responsibility for meat promotion matters.

§ Sir Peter Mills
Does my hon. Friend agree that there has been a serious drop in meat consumption lately, and that the promotion of meat products and meat should be conducted strongly in the future? Does he also agree that it is a mistake to believe that convenience foods are cheaper than meat, such as shin beef, best end of lamb and other cheaper cuts which are of benefit to the consumer?

§ Mr. MacGregor
The overall consumption of meat is at about the same level as it was 10 years ago, but that hides the fact that there has been an increase in the consumption of white meat, especially poultry and pork, and frozen convenience meats. There has been a decline in the consumption of most carcase meats. My hon. Friend will know that considerable efforts go into the promotionn and marketing of meat, and I support those efforts. As to convenience foods, we must recognise that we are talking about consumer choice. Many consumers, especially the young, for a variety of reasons, buy convenience foods. That factor must be taken into account in the promotion of meat.

§ Mr. Kirkwood
Does the Minister accept that the programme being organised by Food from Britain has an important part to play in increasing the consumption of meat? Will he ensure that the £15 million grant for that organisation is continued if the sponsoring organisations continue to be reluctant to take over the funding?

§ Mr. MacGregor
I wholly support the efforts of Food from Britain, which are an important factor in promotion. The hon. Gentleman will know that that organisation is backed by substantial Government funds. Its programme will run for some time, and it would be premature to take 503 decisions now on the longer term. I hope that he also recognises that considerable funds, often from industry, are given for promotion through the Meat and Livestock Commission and the Meat Promotion Executive.

§ Sir Hector Monro
In relation to meat production, will my hon. Friend consider the annual review and agree that, although the statistics are obviously right, the narrative gives a false impression of the well-being of the livestock industry, which is not as healthy as the review seems to show?

§ Mr. MacGregor
Although some sectors of the intensive livestock industry did a little better last year than they did earlier, there has been a drop in income in other parts of the industry. I fully agree with my hon. Friend on that. I had hoped that the way in which we gave the figures had made that clear. There has been an increase, in farming terms generally, on 1983 levels, which means a reduction in real terms on 1982 levels. Within that, some sectors have done much worse than others.

Mr. Mark Hughes
In those discussions, will the Minister consider the possibility of a change in the carcase specification for premium payments which takes into account low fat meat for dietary purposes? Will he especially consider giving farmers a premium for Welsh lamb with a low fat content, rather than the reverse at present, where the more fat there is on a lamb, the more money the farmer gets per pound?

§ Mr. MacGregor
The hon. Gentleman will know that one recommendation by COMA to the Government has been along those lines. No decision has been taken, but the views of the industry and other organisations on the recommendation have been sought and are currently being considered. I expect to make an announcement shortly.