Eating steak may soon be a luxury, like drinking champagne, says EU meat boss

The boss of Europe’s top meat processor said beef will become a luxury like champagne because of the climate impact of producing it. 

"Beef is not going to be super climate friendly," Danish Crown Chief Executive Officer Jais Valeur said in an interview with Danish newspaper Berlingske. "It will be a luxury product that we eat when we want to treat ourselves."

Valeur said pork would be a more climate-friendly protein. Danish Crown is one of Europe’s largest pork producers, although it is also a player in the beef market.

Meat companies are coming under pressure to curb greenhouse gases, with 57% of all food industry emissions coming from making animal products, according to one study. Tackling methane emissions from livestock is one of the most critical climate challenges for producers.

A group of three nonprofit organisations in Denmark are suing Danish Crown for allegedly misrepresenting its climate footprint in a marketing campaign that says pork production is "more climate friendly than you think". Danish crown said it isn’t misleading consumers.