On 16th June 2026, new economic modelling commissioned by ProVeg International suggested that transforming public food procurement across the EU‑27 into mostly plant‑sourced meals could unlock substantial financial, health, and environmental gains. The analysis, carried out by Bryant Research and published as “The €11 Billion Opportunity: Unlocking the Economic Potential of Plant‑Forward Public Procurement in the EU,” examined food served in schools, hospitals, universities, military institutions, and other public bodies.
The report estimates that Europe currently spends more than €45 billion a year on public food, and that today’s animal‑heavy procurement patterns generate around €8.43 billion in environmental externalities annually, ultimately covered by taxpayers through healthcare costs, climate damage, and wider environmental degradation. Under a scenario where 85% of public food budgets are allocated to plant‑sourced menus, the EU would, according to the modelling, gain €3.16 billion in direct food budget savings and a total of €11.61 billion per year once avoided health and environmental costs are included.
Jasmijn de Boo, Global CEO at ProVeg International, framed public food choices as a powerful economic and policy lever rather than a matter of personal lifestyle, saying, “This is not a lifestyle debate, it is a fiscal and strategic one. Public procurement is one of Europe’s most overlooked climate and health tools. By shifting spending to 85% plant-based, the EU could save €3.16 billion directly from food budgets, and over €11 billion annually when environmental and health impacts are included.”
The study highlights school canteens as a key policy lever, noting they account for 39% of institutional animal‑based food consumption in the EU, and could act as a structural preventative health measure if menus were shifted away from animal products, with long‑term impacts on adult obesity rates. The findings land just as the European Commission prepares to revise the EU Public Procurement Directive, in a process aimed at mainstreaming sustainability criteria in public contracts, and the report argues that existing rules already allow meaningful progress but that targeted legislative changes would be needed to fully realise the projected benefits.
However, all the savings shown in the report would be dwarfed if, rather than shifting to spending 85% on plant-based food, 100% vegan food were chosen, showing that the 15% of animal products expenditure in the report is unjustifiable.
