I've been complaining for some time about the misleading labeling and marketing of our food. So when the industry steps up to protect us from confusing and misleading labeling, it would be wrong not to give them a pat on the back.
Why the sudden concern about the misleading food labels they specialize in? Because the "alternative meat" industry is on a roll.
Plant based meat substitutes now comprise an $800 million a year business. And meat producers are concerned that you will be confused by them and mistake them for real meat. This despite the fact that products such as Beyond Meat, Morningstar and Impossible Burger prominently feature words such as "vegetarian", "vegan", and "plant based" on their labeling already, the traditional meat industry is worried that you might mistake these products for animal meat.
Eager to protect you from accidentally buying "plant-based meat" substitutes under the impression that you were getting animal meat products, the industry is pushing bills in Congress to confine the word "meat" to foods derived from animals. And just in case that doesn't work, their trade groups are launching fear mongering campaigns in the media questioning the nutritional and health value of meat substitutes. (In fairness, plant-based meats are not necessarily health foods.)
I'm all in favor of efforts to protect consumers from the deceptive labeling that food companies routinely employ. But this effort is designed to protect meat producers from unwelcome competition. Are you really so stupid as to think your plant-based Beyond Meat burger is ground bison?
I didn't think so. But the marketing and lobbying arms of the meat industry apparently do.
No comments:
Post a Comment