Fake Meat

I do not think fake meat is a passing fad that will fade away. Billions of dollars are being invested in synthesizing beef.

I really do not understand the motivation for all this. I am sure someone sees the wisdom in all those dollars being invested.

Since our ranch is in North Texas, near the urban areas of Dallas and Fort Worth, we are no strangers to touring chefs, journalists and others with deep interest in the culinary arts. We are proud to share our methods of raising cattle and producing beef with a curious public.

Having operated with this kind of transparency for decades, my family and our fellow members of Texas and Southwestern Cattle Raisers Association are concerned about the push for fake beef products. I hear many of the same people who are proponents of unprocessed, organic and non-GMO foods pressuring the public to accept these imitation products that are cobbled together in a laboratory.

One of the leading plant-based imitation meats has 21 ingredients, with the main one being soy protein concentrate, which itself is heavily processed. Cell-cultured meats are "grown" in a laboratory using things like fetal bovine serum.

Real beef, though, has only one ingredient, 100% beef, and it is grown using things like grass in sunny pastures.

While plant-based fake meats are already available, the lab-grown product is still being developed, but it is likely not far from being offered to the public.

Fake meat industry representatives have made a lot of claims, but the corporations developing these lab-grown meats tend to be reluctant to provide details on their production methods. Until independent scientists analyze the products, many questions will remain about food safety risks and compositional and nutritional properties.

That's why it is essential that consumers, cattle producers and government regulators come together now, before the product comes to market. We must ensure that fake meats are properly vetted and regulated to protect the health and well-being of consumers and prevent false or deceptive marketing.

Unfortunately, some of this deceptive marketing has already begun, with supporters of fake meat calling it "clean" meat. They acknowledge that "clean" is not a legal term. They use this description because "it is the expression that elicits the most positive response in potential buyers," according to David Banis, a contributor to Forbes.com in a Dec. 14 article.

https://www.dallasnews.com/opinion/commentary/2019/09/22/fake-meat-deserves-the-same-regulations-and-oversight-as-beef/?

(CNN)If you think a veggie burger sounds unappealing, wait until it's listed as a "vegetable-based protein" on a restaurant menu.

That's how it could appear in Arkansas, the latest in a string of states to pass bills that control how so-called fake meat is marketed.

The state's "truth in labeling" bill is set to take effect this week, banning the use of meat-related terminology to describe meatless products. The bill's authors say it's an effort to "protect consumers from being misled or confused."
But veggie-meat maker Tofurky says it won't be silenced. On Monday, the American Civil Liberties Union said it had filed a free-speech lawsuit against the director of the Arkansas Department of Agriculture's Bureau of Standards on behalf of the vegetarian brand.

The ACLU says that the state has violated the First Amendment, "censoring truthful speech in order to protect the economic interests of the meat industry."

According to the bill, plant-based "meats" such as those made from soy, tempeh, wheat or lab-cultured ingredients are not classified as meat. Companies found to misrepresent a vegetarian item as a meat product could be fined $1,000 per violation.

https://www.cnn.com/2019/07/23/us/arkansas-fake-meat-marketing-law-trnd/index.html

No surprise that the ACLU is taking that side, everything they do is politically motivated. I support the idea of labeling the fake crap as the fake crap it is. If it can be made cheaper then it's likely that fast foods and manufacturers of processed foods would try to use it or at least add it into their products. The consumers would be none the wiser.
On a side note, I know that times are different, now but I remember when McDonalds tried the soy burgers or something of the sort 25 or 30 years ago it didn't go over well. I think a lot of investors are gaging some of the veggie/fake, environmental, movements as being bigger than they probably are. I'm thinking it could be a miscalculation of epic proportions.

There are 2 battles we have to fight. The nutritional value is one. I think we'll win that one but it may take years. 2nd is the environmental argument. We have to prove that cows on pasture are a net carbon sink as opposed to a source. I think we have to prove that grazing is environmentally essential as a way to build soil health.

shaz said:

There are 2 battles we have to fight. The nutritional value is one. I think we'll win that one but it may take years. 2nd is the environmental argument. We have to prove that cows on pasture are a net carbon sink as opposed to a source. I think we have to prove that grazing is environmentally essential as a way to build soil health.

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You hit the nail square.

The problem is, most beef guys are so turned off by government action they commit business suicide.

The other problem is the groups (NCBA, etc.) that are supposed to be acting in our interest appears to only represent their own interest, not ours.

Our myopic focus on the cow will lead us over the cliff.

HDRider said:

shaz said:

There are 2 battles we have to fight. The nutritional value is one. I think we'll win that one but it may take years. 2nd is the environmental argument. We have to prove that cows on pasture are a net carbon sink as opposed to a source. I think we have to prove that grazing is environmentally essential as a way to build soil health.

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You hit the nail square.

The problem is, most beef guys are so turned off by government action they commit business suicide.

The other problem is the groups (NCBA, etc.) that are supposed to be acting in our interest appears to only represent their own interest, not ours.

Our myopic focus on cow will lead us over the cliff.

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I think you are correct the idea of government intervention and legislation does turn off a lot of independent minded folks, but the other sides are fully willing to work toward legislation and regulation to accomplish their goals.
The groups and associations that are supposed to be representing us seem to have been selling us out.
I feel like that if cattle producers could at lest somewhat come together and bring in some representation from other outside sources that are dealing with the same opposition it could increase momentum. The other side has mastered that concept years ago.
For cattlemen, finding and having an actual voice is a new concept and I'm beginning to be encouraged at least somewhat because I have never heard any speaking out on their behalf before.

I think we feel like the truth will eventually prevail. Maybe it will but I bet it will be too late if history is any indicator. How long did it take to debunk the low fat craze that started us on this downward spiral? About 25 years.

HDRider said:

I do not think fake meat is a passing fad that will fade away.
I really do not understand the motivation for all this.

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Motivation is $
Burger King charges the same for either, improves profit with higher margins on the fake.
McDonald's will soon be doing the same. It is definitely not a fad.

Son of Butch said:

HDRider said:

I do not think fake meat is a passing fad that will fade away.
I really do not understand the motivation for all this.

Click to expand...

Motivation is $
Burger King charges the same for either, improving profits with higher margins on the fake.
McDonald's will soon be doing the same. It is definitely not a fad.

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The motivation is almost always money.

How does the cost to produce beef compare to the cost to produce fake beef?

Son of Butch said:

HDRider said:

I do not think fake meat is a passing fad that will fade away.
I really do not understand the motivation for all this.

Click to expand...

Motivation is $
Burger King charges the same for either, improves profit with higher margins on the fake.
McDonald's will soon be doing the same. It is definitely not a fad.

Click to expand...

With as much money and effort as has and is being put in to it obviously they are counting on it not being a fad. The issue of widespread acceptance or not is going to be to tell the tale. Ostrich burgers were sold at our state fair one year. There were reports of a lot being sold. Someone said that they didn't tell how many were thrown in the trash unfinished. Don't know the validity of that but sounds logical. For me personally if someone wants to eat a vegan diet with burgers made from soybeans or black beans that's fine with me, but the fake meat crap just sounds awful. I have a hard time stomaching some of the processed meals already made with allegedly real ingredients.

Beyond meat will report earnings Nov 4. They are presently losing 14 cents a share but are expected to break even to 7 cent/share profit next quarter.

Currently 136/share down from a high of 239.

So their customers are as dumb as their shareholders.

shaz said:

Beyond meat will report earnings Nov 4. They are presently losing 14 cents a share but are expected to break even to 7 cent/share profit next quarter.

Currently 136/share down from a high of 239.

So their customers are as dumb as their shareholders.

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That is disturbing and telling as to their customer base, my question about it is will they continue to maintain and grow their customer base. I'm figuring on their base being limited I just don't know to what extent.

Is food just meant to fill the belly?

In unbiased side by side taste test of Whopper vs BK Impossible Burger
90% could tell which was which and preferred the Whopper even though they only rated
the Whopper as average for a fast food burger.

Son of Butch said:

In unbiased side by side taste test of Whopper vs BK Impossible Burger
90% could tell which was which and preferred the Whopper even though they only rated
the Whopper as average for a fast food burger.

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That would take some real dedication by the followers of it to keep on purchasing the improper whopper with those kinds of reviews. For what's worth the last time we ate at burger dink we thought it was awful, that was round two years ago.

Without side by side comparison Impossible Burger's rating improves and people who mistakenly
think just because it contains no meat it must be a healthier option will buy it.
Regardless of what you think of them BK and McDonald's sell millions of pounds of beef and
fake meat will cut into beef sales.

Son of Butch said:

Without side by side comparison Impossible Burger's rating improves and people who mistakenly
think just because it contains no meat it must be a healthier option will buy it.
Regardless of what you think of them BK and McDonald's sell millions of pounds of beef and
fake meat will cut into beef sales.

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I'm under no false impression that those are not insignificant markets or that it won't cut into beef sales. I'm just holding out for hope that it doesn't cut into it too much.

Son of Butch said:

In unbiased side by side taste test of Whopper vs BK Impossible Burger
90% could tell which was which and preferred the Whopper even though they only rated
the Whopper as average for a fast food burger.

Click to expand...

I wonder how it compares to an equivalent product like Friskies or 9 Lives?