The Growing Popularity of Plant-Based Meat

And the panicky reaction of the meat industry.

Sep 17, 2022

I’m planning to publish two newsletters a week from now on: One on Saturdays, like the one below, where I research topics related to the environment, veganism, and other similar themes. On Wednesday or so I’ll publish animal stories, travel adventures, recipes, and more personal writings. That way, in case you signed up for research you won’t feel cheated and can simply skip the middle-of-the-week article.

People choose a vegetarian or vegan diet for a number of reasons. Some are concerned about the environment: the methane emissions produced by livestock (most of it in factory farms) come to 14.5% of global greenhouse gas emissions, or 7.1 gigatonnes per year. Now add the fact that each methane molecule has 25 - 28 times the GWP (Global Warming Potential) of a carbon dioxide molecule, and it becomes clear that the commercial cattle industry is a major contributor to methane production. Plus, beef production requires way more resources than tofu, for example: 460 gallons of water, 13.5 LB of feed (mostly grain and corn), and 64.5 square feet of land (to raise the feed that cows eat) for ¼ LB hamburger meat versus 60 gallons of water, ¼ LB of beans, and 6 square feet of land for ¼ LB of tofu.

Others may be motivated by health reasons: meat consumption, and red meat in particular, is linked to a number of serious diseases: heart attack, stroke, heart failure, and a number of other cardiovascular conditions. It can increase the risk for certain cancers, such as bowel and prostate cancers. It may speed up the development of Alzheimer’s Disease and dementia, as well as Type 2 Diabetes.

And a great many people who follow a vegan/vegetarian lifestyle do so because of ethical reasons. They know about the horrendous cruelty that factory farming inflicts on animals and they’re opposed to any form of killing. Maybe this is one reason why only 25% of all vegans in the US are male? Not to sound sexist, but the social pressure of being perceived as “masculine” may influence a large number of men on a subconscious level.

Probably by far the most important reason for people who wish to go without meat but can’t make the commitment is the taste. If you grew up with a turkey for Thanksgiving, barbecued hamburgers for the 4th of July, a glazed ham for Christmas, you may not easily take to tofu and beans as a substitute, despite your best intentions. In that case, something that’s made from plants but tastes like meat might be just the ticket. That’s probably why US retail sales of plant-based meat substitutes have been growing steadily over the last three years. Data from 2021 show that “U.S. retail sales of plant-based foods continue to increase, growing 6.2% in 2021 over a record year of growth in 2020 and bringing the total plant-based market value to an all-time high of $7.4 billion.”1

This, of course, has led to a strong reaction from the meat industry. Meat producers financially support a public relations firm which gives them a strong voice in their fight against meat substitutes: The Center for Consumer Freedom, a non-profit organization founded in 1996 by lawyer, public relations executive, and former lobbyist Richard Berman. Through his public affairs and non-profit management firm Berman and Company he runs a number of nonprofits that “have challenged organizations like Mothers Against Drunk Driving, the Center for Science in the Public Interest, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, The Humane Society of the United States, teachers' unions, labor unions, trial lawyers among others and former New York mayor Michael Bloomberg.”2 Because of the non-profit status of his organizations, potential donors to his causes and the amount of money they give do NOT have to be disclosed. The New York Times obtained the text of a talk he gave to a group of energy executives where he “urged them to contribute several million dollars to a nonprofit organization he runs, with a promise that he would hide the origin of the money.”3

The meat industry must have been quite concerned about their profits when they hired this loaded gun. The Center for Consumer Freedom started several campaigns where they warn people that plant-based meat is unhealthy because it is heavily processed, they claim. Yes, the industry that produces SPAM and hot dogs complains that plant-based food is too processed. How dishonest and disingenuous their ad campaigns are is clearly visible when they compare veggie burgers to dog food: they use the ingredients of Impossible Burger and Beyond Burger next to the ingredients of a vegan dog food product. They don’t say that the dog food is vegan, or that the manufacturer claims he has eaten it because it has ONLY human-grade ingredients and tastes good. They count on the fact that most people who see this ad won’t really look at the ingredients and will simply conclude that this “fake meat” is about as unappetising as the meat-based kibble they feed their dogs.

This reminded me of an encounter I had in 2020 when the stores in New Mexico where I live had a mask mandate. I was shopping at a grocery store when a man entered who didn’t wear a mask. The cashier reminded him politely to put one on but he ignored her. When he came closer, I also asked that he wear a mask, and playfully waved my hands to shoo him away. He got totally mad, yelled at me that I treated him like a dog when I said “Shoo-shoo!”. I certainly didn’t want to escalate anything because I’d read that people got killed when they insisted that somebody wear a mask. So I simply walked away. But the truth is that this man doesn’t come anywhere close to how I value and treat dogs. I love dogs, but some egotistical idiot? Absolutely nowhere close.

I mention this as an example for miscommunication and misunderstanding that the ad campaign equalling plant-based burgers with dog food deliberately exploits.

Once you have been vegan for a while you probably don’t want to be reminded of the taste of meat. Some vegan purists object to “fake meat” for this reason. Personally, I find a “bleeding” veggie-burger (apparently achieved with beet-juice) not particularly appetizing. But I applaud anybody who gives this a try, maybe once a week, instead of eating a real hamburger. Whatever it takes to relieve the suffering of cattle meant to be slaughtered – one step at a time.

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