A large section of society has decided not to eat meat after its recent skyrocketing cost, Reem Leila reports Since the beginning of April the press has been calling on the public to turn their back on purchasing veal and beef due to their soaring prices. But the call has not been limited to the press. "Stop buying meat", "Be positive and take action", "We all must be less carnivorous and boycott red meat" are some of the slogans submitted by two Facebook groups during the last week of April, mobilising the nation against buying red meat. The boycott, which started on 26 April, aimed at bringing down the astronomical prices of meat. The campaign was not restricted to Cairo but extended to Giza and Gharbiya governorates, in addition to official organisations, including the Egyptian Chamber for Tourist Establishments (ECTE). Teachers, doctors, housewives, and university students across the country refrained from buying meat and threatened to continue boycotting if the prices did not go down. Meat has reached unjustifiably high prices which have consequently affected the cost of processed meat as well as poultry and fish, despite the government's efforts to rein in prices. "In one month the price of one kilo of beef jumped from LE50 to LE60. In some neighbourhoods it hit LE80 per kilo and more. I can't afford this kind of increase. I'd rather be a vegetarian. I do have other commitments," stated school teacher Samah Mohamed, a mother of three. In earlier campaigns only the public participated, but this time the government joined the boycott until the end of the month. The Central Association for Consumer Protection (CACP) started the boycott campaign all over the country in mid- April. Anan Hilal, vice-head of the CACP, estimated the rise in meat prices during the past few weeks at 20-50 per cent. "All CACP members have agreed to join the boycott in order to pressure butchers, cattle breeders and meat importers to curtail soaring prices," Hilal stated. The media has a very important role, according to Hilal. "It must intensify its campaigns to persuade the public, especially the middle class and above to stop buying meat." She said the CACP had posted banners downtown urging the public to stop purchasing meat. At the same time, meat importers, Hilal added, must consider bringing in meat to the country from Sudan and Ethiopia because of the low cost of import and the good quality of meat produced from their rich pastures. Lawyer Mohsen Kamal, who lives in Alexandria and is a father of two girls, decided to stop buying meat until the prices returned to normal. "I haven't bought meat since 26 April and will continue until the end of the month, or until the price of one kilo of meat is LE50 or less," Kamal said. "People like me with children, who need meat at least twice a week in their diet, can consider poultry as an alternative. If the cost of chicken increased, fish is still there, and if fish goes up, then vegetarian protein like beans and lentils will do just fine." Manal Qassem, a bank accountant, said she will not boycott buying red meat. "My participation in the boycott will not reduce prices. We eat meat twice a day. My husband and children cannot eat their lunch and dinner without it," said Qassem. "The solution must come from the government, not the people. The effect of the public, no matter how strong, will still be weak and not felt." More than 30 years ago, Egyptians became involved in what was called the "Bread Demonstration" after the cost of meat crossed LE1 per kilogramme. In the 1980s female Maadi residents decided to boycott meat when its price rose to LE10 a kilo. The ECTE unanimously decided to instruct all food outlets, tourist restaurants and enterprises to boycott meat on 26 April and refrain from serving it to customers. ECTE Chairman Wagdi El-Kerdani said that "newspapers, bloggers, TV shows and radio programmes have been repeatedly urging people to boycott but nothing has actually happened." The ECTE is the only entity which can enforce the boycott on such establishments. "In case of violations, penalties ranging from warnings to closing down the establishment will be applied," El-Kerdani said, though he believed all will respect the decision. There are more than 1,500 outlets in Cairo which purchase at least 400kg of meat a day. "If all of them stopped buying meat for one day, this might help in pressuring butchers to decrease the price," El-Kerdani stated. "If one day is not effective, the boycott could be extended for a week or more. Then there will be an excessive amount of red meat in the market, after which merchants will be obliged to reduce the price. Unfortunately, not all food chains have participated in the boycott." In a tour conducted of famous food chains, Al-Ahram Weekly noticed that most restaurants which joined the campaign refrained from serving meat on 26 April. Abeer Osman, a waitress at Chili's, said, "Our menu on 26 April was void of meat. Our customers were very understanding of our participation in the boycott. In fact, some of them encouraged us to extend it for a week or two." Meat has been taken off the menu of Café Noir. According to an employee who spoke on condition of anonymity, "we removed all meat dishes from the menu. Amazingly, none of our customers ordered meat. All of them asked for poultry and fish." Not all restaurants participated in the campaign. McDonald's did not remove beef from its menu. In fact, most of its employees were unaware of the campaign. Elham Hassan, a school teacher and mother of an eight-year-old boy, did not boycott. "I can afford buying meat, so why deprive my child and family from something I can pay for? The boycott is for those who can't afford buying meat," added Hassan. At the same time, the Giza governorate called for a one-month boycott instead of one week. Mustafa El-Khatib, head of the Giza Local Council, said council members had decided to stop buying meat and organise public campaigns in order to persuade people to refrain from purchasing meat. "The boycott could be extended to two months or more in case prices do not go down and butchers, cattle breeders and importers refuse to respond to our demands," El-Khatib said, confirming that Giza Governor Sayed Abdel-Aziz, along with the governorate's officials and their families will join the one-month campaign." Instructions have been given to consumer cooperatives to sell meat alternatives such as chicken, fish, beans, eggs and lentils at reasonable prices to the public. Butcher Mohamed Bonnah, who is also a cattle breeder, believes that a one- week boycott will not adversely affect his industry. "This campaign will not decrease prices. Instead of boycotting meat, governmental officials should work seriously to solve the problem," Bonnah said. Bonnah said the slaughtering of female and young livestock along with the increase in fodder prices are the main causes of the current crisis. "Unfortunately, small farmers and peasants cannot afford raising cows and buffaloes until the animals are at least 250-300 kilos, after which they are sold when they are young. The cost of fodder suddenly hiked when people were suffering from a financial crisis," Bonnah added. "The government should sell fodder at low prices to local livestock breeders and offer them loans in order to bring stability back to the market." Mohamed El-Sobki, owner of a famous meat chain in the country, stated that the rate of selling meat among his shops had decreased by 50 per cent since the beginning of April. "Our weekly customers at some of our chains are now buying meat twice a month and at lesser quantities," El-Sobki stated, hoping for a radical solution to the current crisis. He said soaring prices of meat was the result of the global increase of its cost. "There was a sudden jump in the price of fodder in addition to the lack of supply when compared to high consumption rates." According to the 2008 US Department of Agriculture (USDA) annual Livestock and Product report on Egypt, the average per capita consumption of red meat is estimated at 8.5kg per year, relatively low compared to consumption levels in other countries. The low consumption is due mainly to limited local production combined with low income. Accordingly, meat consumption is expected to decline after the short supply of locally produced meat drove prices up. Egypt's annual production of livestock is nearly four million head, insufficient for local consumption. The government is planning to supply the local market with 13,000 additional head of cattle from Ethiopia and Djibouti, to be increased to 20,000 by the beginning of May. Minister of Agriculture and Land Reclamation Amin Abaza told the press that the price of meat will soon be reduced to LE30 per kilo in order to compel local meat producers to lower retail prices. "Until this happens, people should stop purchasing meat and start using other alternatives as a way of fighting greedy merchants and breeders," Abaza said. The government, he said, will take new measures to help increase the number of livestock farms in order to secure local meat production. "Meat prices are expected to go down in the coming weeks because shipments of imported meat will arrive at the local market," Abaza added.
