America’s Cattle Ranchers Are Fighting Back Against Fake Meat
Beef producers see an existential threat in the growth of meat-alternatives. For a hint at the threat they face, they point to almond, soy and other imitation milks that have captured about 10% of sales.
JACOB BUNGE: ‘Over the past two years, the beef industry has pushed legislation that restricts terms like “beef” and “meat” to the kind raised on the hoof, not products derived from plants or future ones developed using animal cells in labs. Various labeling laws are now are on the books in 12 states and were considered this year in 15 others, with a federal bill introduced in October.
For restaurants and grocery stores, growth is coming not from the real thing, but from a new generation of meatless products that combine proteins from soy or yellow peas with potato starch, beet juice and other ingredients to more closely mimic beef’s sizzle and juiciness. U.S. retail meat sales fell 0.4% in the past 12 months through October, while sales of alternative meat grew 8%, according to market-research firm Nielsen. In the 12 months before that, meat sales fell 0.8% while sales of alternatives rose 21%.
Plant-based alternatives amount to the equivalent of just 1% of the total volume of meat sold in the U.S., according to Nielsen. But some beef producers see an existential threat in the growth of meat-alternative makers like Beyond and Impossible Foods Inc. For a hint at the threat they face, they point to dairy farmers’ years-long losing battle against almond, soy and other imitation milks that have captured about 10% of sales, while consumption of traditional cows’ milk has declined…
Among those obstacles is a campaign to sow doubts about the benefits of meat alternatives. The Center for Consumer Freedom, a Washington-based nonprofit that is partly funded by meat producers and other companies, in 2018 began a campaign to counter consumers’ belief that meat alternatives are healthier than regular meat, critiquing what it says are the products’ heavily processed nature and reliance on fillers and additives that contribute to obesity.
The group, which has previously campaigned against animal-rights activists and soda taxes, started by penning op-eds in local and national newspapers and meat-industry websites, questioning meat alternatives’ processing and ingredients. Since July, it has bought ads in the New York Times, The Wall Street Journal and USA Today, blasting meat-alternative products with slogans such as “fake meat, real chemicals.” And a post on the CCF’s website in August highlighted a quiz that compared veggie-burger ingredients with those found in dog food’. SOURCE…
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