He looks at the participants who have gathered in his grupstal, one by one, when he asks: "Does the consumer want milk from a cow that is mainly fed with grass or concentrates? And does that consumer want high-pasteurized or low-pasteurized milk? I can ask you, a family member or a Chinese person, I'll get the same answers."
Jan emphasizes that he and his fellow entrepreneurs approach all issues in the same way: from the consumer's point of view. "We organize guided tours and were constantly asked the same question: why don't the calves walk with the cow? If that is asked fifty times, you start to think. Yes, why not? For years now it appears that it is possible. The consumer is not crazy."
The cows on Veld and Beek are of the old Dutch Blaarkop breed. They are suitable for both milk and meat production, and they fit well into organic farming. "Our cows produce around 5,000 litres of milk per year, with little concentrate. An average Dutch cow delivers 10,000 litres in a year, with a lot of concentrates, but that consumer does not want that."
"As long as sustainable products remain more expensive, we will not make any progress"
The consumer is central to the entrepreneurs of Veld and Beek, but jan is cynical precisely for that reason. "It's nice that we have an organic farm, with 3,300 customers, but will it help in our fight for better biodiversity? No! And that is mainly due to the simple fact that everything that is sustainable is especially expensive and everything that is not sustainable is cheap."
In Jans' vision, there is only one solution: making sustainable products cheaper than non-sustainable products. "How do you do that? Just like before with the excise duties for petrol. Unleaded petrol is cheaper than petrol with lead. How hard can it be? I really appreciate that you have concluded a covenant and are taking steps, but we really have to talk about consumer demand. It is essential and offers the only solution. As long as sustainable products remain more expensive, we will not make any progress and we will only pick the low-hanging fruit."
"Farmers should not want to sell more, but less"
And Jan goes one step further. Because it's not just about our food. What about the refrigerators that have a label from a to f. "Can you guess which refrigerator is sold the most? While we can realize it that way, hey. Just next year excise duty on refrigerators b to f and it immediately pays off."
His story leads to a question from the audience: "the government wants us to take our responsibility as an investor, so that we help solve problems. But when I hear this now, the government must also help the market better to do its job well. We always say that investing is fine, but there must be a business case . That's not unjustified, is it?"
"The government and society are one," jan replies. "We can't expect sustainability to just come out of the blue. When I hear farmers say they want to feed the world, I laugh. Farmers should not want to sell more, but less. If farmers produce massively sustainably and therefore less, because all consumers ask for it and because it is cheaper, shortages will automatically arise and prices will go up."
According to Jan, it is high time that The Hague in particular realizes that it should only be about Sustainabilism . "That DDND (Sustainable So Not Expensive) is really the only solution. In this way, we also create a better balance between animal and vegetable products. Simply because plant-based products are much easier and cheaper to produce. And in case you're wondering: no, we won't get hungry, but due to the higher consumer prices for unsustainable, we will have a different and, above all, better balance between plant and animal consumption."