“The niche that this fills is not the same niche that a kale salad fills,” he said. It is simply to persuade people who want a “cow burger” to eat an Impossible Burger instead. Brown, the chief executive of Impossible Foods, said his company’s mission is not to convince consumers that the Impossible Burger is the most nutritious food they can eat. “Kansas has a very large beef industry and they said, ‘Why are we allowing this fake meat in the meat department?’” he said. Patients of his told him they were confused about the health benefits of plant-based beef substitutes, and beef producers told him they were frustrated that the products are sold in grocery stores next to ground beef. Marshall, an obstetrician, said he introduced the bill after hearing from constituents. The bill calls for the products to carry a statement on their packages “that clearly indicates the product is not derived from or does not contain meat.”ĭr. In October, Representative Roger Marshall, a Republican from Kansas and the top recipient of livestock industry donations in the House, introduced a federal bill that would require companies to put the word “imitation” on their plant-based meat products.
Missouri became the first state to pass such a law last year, which was initially proposed by the Missouri Cattlemen’s Association. At least 25 states have introduced bills making it illegal to use the words “beef” or “meat” on products made from plant ingredients or cultured meat that is grown in a lab. Meat producers are taking the fight against fake meat to lawmakers. Earlier this year, a group of scientists challenged decades of nutrition advice, saying that warnings linking red meat consumption to heart disease and cancer are not backed by strong scientific evidence, though it was later revealed that the study’s lead author had past research ties to an industry group whose members include fast food companies and a beef processor. An uncooked four-ounce beef patty has about 75 milligrams of sodium, compared to 370 milligrams of sodium in the Impossible Burger and 390 milligrams in the Beyond Burger.īut the health messages about red meat have been confusing. But compared to real beef, the two plant-based burgers are considerably higher in sodium, containing about 16 percent of the recommended daily value. They also contain fiber real meat does not. Both products use methylcellulose, a plant derivative commonly used in sauces and ice cream, as a binder.Ĭompared to a beef patty, the Impossible and Beyond burgers have similar amounts of protein and calories, with less saturated fat and no cholesterol. The Impossible Burger is made with similar basic ingredients but it gets its protein largely from soy and potato, and it uses an iron-containing compound from soy called heme to enhance the burger’s meaty flavor. Beyond Meat says it uses no genetically modified or artificially produced ingredients. The Beyond Burger has about 18 ingredients, including purified pea protein, coconut and canola oils, rice protein, potato starch and beet juice extract for coloring.
Impossible Foods and Beyond Meat say the building blocks of their burgers are plants. Its headline: “‘Plant-Based Meat’ Is All Hat and No Cattle.” A few days later, the center’s executive director, Rick Berman, wrote an op-ed in The Wall Street Journal criticizing plant-based meats as highly processed and no healthier than meat. In November, the group’s managing director, Will Coggin, wrote an opinion piece in USA Today that labeled fake meats as ultra-processed foods that can spur weight gain, although the research on processed foods has not included plant-based meats. Another directs readers to a site that compares plant-based burgers to dog food. “What’s hiding in your plant-based meat?” asks one ad featuring a sad face made of two patties and sausage. The ads call them “ultra-processed imitations” with numerous ingredients. In recent weeks the group has placed full-page ads in The New York Times and other newspapers raising health concerns about plant-based meat substitutes like the Impossible Burger and the Beyond Burger, which are designed to look, taste and even appear to bleed like real meat. That is the message behind a marketing campaign by the Center for Consumer Freedom, a public relations firm whose financial supporters have included meat producers and others in the food industry.
The meat industry has a warning for consumers: Beware of plant-based meat.
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