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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.
Older stories:
Previously: U.S. Cattlemen's Association Wants an Official Definition of "Meat"
Regulation Coming to Lab-Grown Meat
FDA Approves Impossible Burger "Heme" Ingredient; Still Wants to Regulate "Cultured Meat"
Missouri Regulates Use of the Word "Meat" by Food Producers
Following IPO of Beyond Meat, Tyson Foods Plans Launch of its Own Meatless Products
Mississippi Bans Calling Plant and Cultured-Meat Patties 'Burgers'Related: Cargill, Bill Gates, Richard Branson Backed Memphis Meats Expects Meat From Cells in Stores by 2021
FDA May Force Rebranding of Soy, Almond, et al. "Milks"
Meatless "Beyond Burgers" Come to Fast Food Restaurants
Beef Trimmings Dubbed 'Pink SLIME' Can Now be Labelled 'Ground Beef'
No Need to Cut Down Red and Processed Meat, Study Says
(Score: 1) by Surak_Prime on Wednesday December 04 2019, @06:44PM
You're assuming that the whole market for these items is vegans/vegetarians, or teetotalers. I love well-prepared steak and chicken. But I'm not a big fan of hamburgers made with ground meat, and I much prefer soyburger patties. And sometimes I like tofu in my stir-fries - not to replace meat, but right there along side it. (Though I do notice that I cut back on the meat when doing that, which is probably accidentally good for me.) I'm not doing it for ethical reasons, and I'm not doing it for my health. I eat some of these things because some of them are additional tasty options for my face hole. This also applies to "near beer": if I'm going to drink alcohol, I'm drinking liquor, because my tolerance is such that beer doesn't even begin to give me a buzz, and it kinda tastes like crap - EXCEPT, every once in a while, when paired with a good steak. In which case, I'm not drinking it for its intoxicating effect, but for the actual flavor, and O'Doul's or Sharp's work well for that, and are often cheaper.