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posted by chromas on Wednesday December 04 2019, @03:51PM   Printer-friendly
from the Meatslap! dept.

Plant-based burgers are "ultra-processed" like dog food, meat-backed ads say

A public-relations firm backed by meat producers has unleashed a savage marketing campaign that claims plant-based meat alternatives are unhealthy, "ultra-processed imitations" similar to dog food.

The campaign rolled out in recent weeks from the industry-funded firm Center for Consumer Freedom, according to The New York Times. So far, it has included full-page ads and opinion pieces in mainstream newspapers, including The New York Times, USA Today, and The Wall Street Journal. All the marketing material raises health concerns about trendy meat alternatives, such as the Impossible Burger and Beyond Burger.

One ad posed the question "What's hiding in your plant-based meat?" Another directed readers to take the quiz "Veggie Burger or Dog Food?"

In an op-ed, the managing director of the Center for Consumer Freedom, Will Coggin, labeled meat alternatives as "ultra-processed" foods and noted that a recent study led by the researchers at the National Institutes of Health linked ultra-processed foods to weight gain.

The negative marketing campaign comes amid soaring popularity of meat alternatives, which threaten to slice into the meat market's sales and profits. In recent months, big players in the meat industry had tried a different—some might say hypocritical—tactic to compete with the new comers—that is, they released their own lines of meat alternatives. Now, the industry wants consumers to think such alternatives are unhealthy.

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  • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday December 04 2019, @04:57PM (11 children)

    by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday December 04 2019, @04:57PM (#928161)

    I'm not a West Coaster. I don't really get the In-N-Out hype. I have colleagues who look forward to California travel because they can go to In-N-Out. I've been several times myself, but I don't understand what is so great about their burgers to warrant the hype. They're not bad, and I don't mind going there, but they're nothing that makes me want to go out of my way to add them as a stop if I'm on travel.

    So what am I missing here?

  • (Score: 2) by ElizabethGreene on Wednesday December 04 2019, @05:16PM (3 children)

    by ElizabethGreene (6748) Subscriber Badge on Wednesday December 04 2019, @05:16PM (#928166) Journal

    I always stop at In-and-Out when I get to states that have them. The cheeseburgers are pretty good, but the thing that puts it over the top is the people. I've never had bad service there. No-one has answered the drive through with "washawan?". The people aren't on their cell phone when you pull up to the window. Orders, even special orders, take a reasonable amount of time. The store is clean inside and out, and the people are neat too.

    The only other fast food place like it is Chic-Fil-A.

    • (Score: 5, Funny) by FatPhil on Wednesday December 04 2019, @11:11PM (2 children)

      by FatPhil (863) <pc-soylentNO@SPAMasdf.fi> on Wednesday December 04 2019, @11:11PM (#928277) Homepage
      Chik-Fil-A's at least so clean. It's certainly uncontaminated by homosexuals.
      --
      Great minds discuss ideas; average minds discuss events; small minds discuss people; the smallest discuss themselves
      • (Score: 4, Funny) by ElizabethGreene on Thursday December 05 2019, @03:37AM (1 child)

        by ElizabethGreene (6748) Subscriber Badge on Thursday December 05 2019, @03:37AM (#928338) Journal

        I eat at both, so there is some level of contamination.;0

        • (Score: 2) by FatPhil on Thursday December 05 2019, @10:12AM

          by FatPhil (863) <pc-soylentNO@SPAMasdf.fi> on Thursday December 05 2019, @10:12AM (#928404) Homepage
          Only you can decide whether you want Cathy to profit from your choices. Judging all workers in all branches, many of whom are just trying to make an honest living, because of the statements of one person very remote from everyone you'd ever encounter, or who actually does any work, could be taken as somewhat of an extreme generalisation. There are times when such objections are appropriate - if all you have to do is get rid of one bad egg, outcries and boycotts can be worth the effort.

          I now wish I'd have spent just a little longer on my prior post, it's blatantly obvious in retrospect that "queers" would have been the better match: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hz1JWzyvv8A
          --
          Great minds discuss ideas; average minds discuss events; small minds discuss people; the smallest discuss themselves
  • (Score: 1, Insightful) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday December 04 2019, @05:35PM

    by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday December 04 2019, @05:35PM (#928171)

    As far as burger chains go, you got to beat What-A-Burger.
    The best burgers are always to be found in single owner joints.
    But there is no "best". There are too many custom crafted burgers capable of blowing you away and they are unique unto themselves.
    In-N-Out ain't even in the ballpark. The little convenience store near me with a grill in the corner makes a better burger.

  • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday December 04 2019, @05:43PM (4 children)

    by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday December 04 2019, @05:43PM (#928175)

    You can order a cheeseburger with 7 patties (7-high). Do that at McDonalds and you'll get explosive diarrhea.

    • (Score: 2) by MostCynical on Wednesday December 04 2019, @07:41PM (3 children)

      by MostCynical (2589) on Wednesday December 04 2019, @07:41PM (#928231) Journal

      better out that in.

      Amazingly, I think I can actually hear all those arteries in the US hardening. 7 patties? No need to plan for retirement..

      --
      "I guess once you start doubting, there's no end to it." -Batou, Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex
      • (Score: 2) by FatPhil on Wednesday December 04 2019, @08:24PM (2 children)

        by FatPhil (863) <pc-soylentNO@SPAMasdf.fi> on Wednesday December 04 2019, @08:24PM (#928240) Homepage
        The only Burger King in the region does an 8-high whopper. It was about 16e, and I didn't feel ripped off at that price. Yes, I may have been a little drunk at the time. That was an experience, and yes, I don't think I can stop it happening again, given the chance. I might let my g/f have a few bites next time (was travelling alone last time).
        --
        Great minds discuss ideas; average minds discuss events; small minds discuss people; the smallest discuss themselves
  • (Score: 1) by Ethanol-fueled on Wednesday December 04 2019, @11:50PM

    by Ethanol-fueled (2792) on Wednesday December 04 2019, @11:50PM (#928283) Homepage

    Because it's fucking cheap and delicious for what it is, and they treat their employees well while having drive-ins. Try to get similar burgers at McDonald's and Jack in the Box and you're going to be paying around 50% extra for way nastier food. Chick Fil-A is the same way, that's why you're gonna drive no less than 10 miles to get to one and both always have fucklong lines in the drive-thru.

    Somebody else mentioned Whataburger, but I've never seen one of those in my entire life and I've lived and traveled across the U.S. And places like Five Guys and Smashburger are walk-in only with a 15-minute wait for your food even on slow days.