Plant-based proteins: a key solution for cutting methane — but are supermarkets doing enough?

The report argues that while plant-based proteins can significantly reduce greenhouse gas emissions and land use, global retailers are failing to implement the sales targets, transparent reporting, and price parity necessary to drive a large-scale transition. Using a Methane Action Tracker, the analysis finds that US retailers lag behind European ones, and most retailers lack proportional targets that pair plant-based growth with animal protein reduction.

• Plant-based proteins offer significant environmental benefits compared to beef, reducing greenhouse gas emissions by 67-89% and land use by 86-97%. If alternative proteins reach 11% of global consumption by 2035, they could reduce CO2e by 0.85 gigatonnes by 2030, potentially rising to 2.2 gigatonnes with further investment and regulation.
• The Methane Action Tracker reveals that the top 20 global retailers are generally failing to address methane in their supply chains, with an average score of only 4.9 out of 20 (24%) in the Alternative Proteins category. While 16 of the 20 retailers offer private-label alternatives, most lack meaningful sales targets or transparent reporting.
• There is a significant geographic divide in retailer performance: European retailers are leading, while US retailers lag. Specifically, Costco, Walmart, and Albertson scored zero on the private-label alternatives indicator. In Europe, Rewe Group offers 1,900 plant-based products and Ahold Delhaize has committed to a 50% plant-based protein share by 2030 for its EU brands.
• Price parity is identified as the weakest area of retailer performance. In the UK, meat alternatives are 73% more expensive than animal products. ProVeg reports that plant-based meats in Europe have margins of 35–50%, compared to only 8% for conventional meat. Only the Schwarz Group has a comparable pricing policy for its Vemondo range, though it does not cover all group operations.
• Most retailers lack 'proportional targets' that require a reduction in animal protein to accompany the growth of plant-based sales. While Lidl and Ahold Delhaize have committed to such targets, others like Tesco, Asda, and Carrefour have set growth targets for plant-based sales without corresponding meat reduction targets.

APA

McDonald, J. (2025). Plant-based proteins: a key solution for cutting methane — but are supermarkets doing enough? Mighty Earth. https://mightyearth.org/article/plant-based-proteins-a-key-solution-for-cutting-methane-but-are-supermarkets-doing-enough/

Chicago

McDonald, Jordan. Plant-based proteins: a key solution for cutting methane — but are supermarkets doing enough? Mighty Earth, 2025. https://mightyearth.org/article/plant-based-proteins-a-key-solution-for-cutting-methane-but-are-supermarkets-doing-enough/.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=McDonald |first1=Jordan |title=Plant-based proteins: a key solution for cutting methane — but are supermarkets doing enough? |publisher=Mighty Earth |date=16 April 2025 |url=https://mightyearth.org/article/plant-based-proteins-a-key-solution-for-cutting-methane-but-are-supermarkets-doing-enough/ |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{mcdonald2025plantbased, author = {McDonald, Jordan}, title = {{Plant-based proteins: a key solution for cutting methane — but are supermarkets doing enough?}}, institution = {Mighty Earth}, year = {2025}, month = apr, url = {https://mightyearth.org/article/plant-based-proteins-a-key-solution-for-cutting-methane-but-are-supermarkets-doing-enough/}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }