The price of meat rose by an average of £1.18 per kilo last year, while plant-based alternatives fell by 14 pence at the UK’s largest supermarket, latest research from the Green Alliance has revealed.
The independent think tank investigated the prices of a selection of meat and plant-based products from Tesco’s online store in its Recipe for Resilience: The Benefits of a Thriving Plant-based Protein Sector report.
It found that meat options were cheaper per gram than plant-based options across every category in 2024. However, this has now changed due to a “disproportionate” hike in meat products.
Beef prices climbed faster than any other meat, rising by an average of 33%, while plant-based alternatives saw less change, and in some cases, fell, the report found.
Plant-based mince and meatballs were shown to be cheaper per gram than meat equivalents, while plant-based burgers and nuggets now cost approximately the same as their meat counterparts.
Additionally, while plant-based pork and chicken products (besides nuggets) remained more expensive than meat equivalents, pork and chicken are experiencing higher levels of inflation than plant-based alternatives (except bacon), so price parity is closer than it was a year ago.
Read more: Why are red meat prices up and when will they settle?
“The rising cost of meat shows no sign of relenting, putting pressure on family finances,” said Lydia Collas, head of natural environment at Green Alliance. “Plant-based alternatives are proving to be more resilient to price rises, and our new research shows that they’d knock £2.15 off the cost of a family-sized lasagne.”
The analysis also found that every £1 of public investment into plant-based products had stimulated £1.92 of private investment, which is a greater rate of return than public investment in artificial intelligence.
The charity has urged the government to prioritise expanding the alternative proteins sector and has called for the creation of a new £30m plant-based food innovation fund in partnership with Defra and UK Research & Innovation.
“To improve the UK’s food security, and encourage British businesses with clear growth potential, the government must support the sector to help bring a wider range of plant-based choices to shops,” added Collas.
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