Dutch supermarkets sold 7% less meat products in 2022 than in 2021, with the sale of steaks and chops falling 9%, animal welfare lobby group Wakker Dier said on Wednesday. The amount of processed meat for sandwiches and snacks fell 4%.

‘Supermarkets are by far the biggest sellers of meat and therefore the most appropriate group to bring down meat consumption,’ Wakker Dier spokesman Collin Molenaar said.

The Dutch currently meet some 60% of their protein needs from meat but the government wants to reduce this to no more than 40% because of the impact of livestock farming on the environment.

The figures come from market research group Circana (formerly IRI), which analyses checkout scans from 99% of the country’s supermarkets.

The Dutch government has so far resisted calls to introduce a tax on meat as one way of reducing consumption.

Meat eaters still account for some 95% of the population. Over half do not eat meat every day of the week and only five percent of the population eats no meat at all, CBS figures from 2021 show.