The future of meat is with the consumer and if the meat industry does not change its mindset, there will be a gradual, consistent decline, Senator Feargal Quinn, chief executive of Superquinn, has predicted.
He told delegates to the European Beef Forum in Dublin yesterday that those who drive the meat industry were in need of " a reality check".
"The meat industry is not yet giving its customers what they want. Opportunities are being passed up . . . The future is not in resisting customer power but in yielding to it and profiting from it," he said.
Meat was still too fat for consumers' taste, in certain countries in particular. "Why? Because the producer, rather than the customer, remains king. Producers are slow to change traditional methods of production to fit changing customer preferences."
Organically produced meat was a niche now. If producers listened to the market, it could progress from niche to mainstream. "That could be an opportunity for the meat industry overall, not a threat," he said.
In the context of food safety, hard and reliable facts were required. While people still wanted to eat, they did not want to prepare food - this had profound implications for catering, retailing and food production. "I see the shape of the food business over the next 20 years being determined by this change. People in the food business who are market-driven will make their plans and lay out their strategies in the light of it," he said.
Mr Sander van der Laan from the Albert Heijn foodmarket chain in the Netherlands, sounded a similar warning to the industry. "I do not care if we're selling beef or chicken or vegetarian, the customer gets what the customer wants. I want to be sure the customer is getting safe and good quality products," he said.
Mr van der Laan sells only Irish be
"More and more people don't know how to cook meat," he added.