Mustard up my nose !

It’s hard to protect the planet (and therefore its children) when you’re not rich! That’s what I said to myself again at the counter of a burger chain during the All Saints’ Day holidays. There, with my little family, we had the choice between different menus consisting of a round bread topped with meat steak… and another with a vegetable steak. What am I saying: choice? Not really, because for the second option, it cost… two euros more. But what world do we live in?

Here we are seven years after the Paris climate agreement: reducing our meat consumption is identified as a major lever to protect it, and I have to pay more for a plant-based alternative? Before I even bit into my burger, the mustard went up my nose. A few days later, on the shelves of a supermarket, I was able to confirm the significant price differential (nearly 30%) between these products produced as a substitute for steaks, nuggets or bacon, and standard meat.

Why such a gap? In a study published last year, INRAE ​​researchers explain: “These products do not benefit from the considerable public aid that conventional meat receives each year, in particular via the Common Agricultural Policy, and which drives prices down .” Favoring – or not – the shift towards a more climate-friendly diet is indeed a political choice. Especially in times of inflation. I say it bluntly: paying more for what is better for the future of my children, whether it is organic or alternatives to meat, we are fed up.