opinion
The holiday season is upon us. Around dinner tables across the U.S., families will share turkeys, hams, and other meat dishes in celebration. Even so, some families are seeking to steer clear of traditional meats in favor of the many alternative protein sources appearing in grocery stores and restaurants. Last year, U.S. grocery store sales of imitation meat rose by almost 20% — totaling a hefty $878 million. Some of these products are plant-based "meats,” such as those offered by Impossible Foods Inc. and Beyond Meat Inc. Other sources aren’t exactly non-animal products, but are derived from animal cells rather than the animals themselves. These cells are grown in laboratories, and the Netherlands-based company Mosa Meat claims it can produce a "hamburger" in mere weeks in its laboratory.
These meat imitators are gaining traction in the marketplace as many consumers seek to reduce or eliminate their overall meat consumption. Gallup estimated that between 2012 and 2018, 3 million Americans converted to veganism. In Great Britain, an entire third of the population has scaled down on consuming or entirely stopped eating meat. These consumers are choosing more meatless options in pursuit of a healthier lifestyle, cleaner environment or an end to animal cruelty.
Consumer choice is driving the marketplace. People want a variety of options when going out to eat or buying from a grocery store. However, the health, environmental and animal welfare concerns that promote meat-free choices are largely based on hardy helpings of less-than-credible information presented to consumers. Meat consumption has its place in a healthy diet, animal agriculture actually benefits the environment, and farmers and ranchers are more committed than anyone to the health, safety and well-being of the animals they raise. Before consumers make the choice to set their tables with these meat alternatives, they should be well informed.
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That's not really meat
As a starting point, manufacturers of plant-based and lab-grown products should not be labeling their imitations as "meat." In a joint announcement early this year, the U.S. Department of Agriculture and the Food and Drug Administration released a statement regarding how lab-grown "meat" should be regulated and labelled. First, the USDA is the proper regulatory agency when a manufacturing process involves a living animal. Second, once cells are in a laboratory setting, the FDA is the regulatory agency. Third, the USDA will be the regulatory agency over product labeling. This should prove to be an excellent collaboration that will take advantage of the expertise of both agencies. To ensure that all lab grown "meat" is safely and accurately labeled, the USDA should reserve terms such as meat, beef, poultry, and roast solely for flesh from livestock.
Questionable health benefits
Second, the health benefits of imitation meats are suspect at best. For example, Burger King’s infamous Impossible Whopper is not the health-conscious choice the fast-food chain would have its customers believe. The meatless burger is heavily processed and contains high amounts of salt and refined ingredients. The environmental group Friends of the Earth advises consumers to take a closer look at lab-grown meats and genetically engineered ingredients, such as the heme that gives the Impossible Whopper its “meaty” taste. Consumers might just find that the nutritional value of these meat alternatives falls short of the real thing and require more intensive research and safety assessments.
Carbon footprint is negligible
Lastly, the belief that cutting out meat from our diets will reduce our carbon footprint is simply not accurate. The entire U.S. livestock industry is responsible for only 3.8% of all direct greenhouse gas emissions. By comparison, transportation emissions make up 26.4% of the total. Even if all 330 million Americans were to switch to a vegan lifestyle, the nation's carbon footprint would decrease by only 2.6%. Before seeing that number as a positive, consider warnings from researchers at the University of California that such a move would have the unintended consequence of producing a food supply that is utterly incapable of meeting the nation's nutritional needs. Traditional meat products contain essential vitamins, minerals, fatty acids and amino acids that are difficult to replicate in plant-based diets and supplements. Any methane that is produced by a cow’s complex ruminant digestive system as it converts low-protein plant materials to consumable high-protein products is a negligible contributor to climate change.
Be conscious about the options you choose from the grocery store as you decide what to cook for your friends and family this holiday season. Humans began domesticating livestock approximately 10,500 years ago as a method of survival. Since that time, modern technologies have revolutionized the world. We now have the luxury of choosing what we eat instead of merely trying to survive. Tellingly, our appetite for meat has stood the test of time, just like a treasured holiday tradition. Whether these meatless alternatives are a passing fad or are here to stay, I hope that you and your family continue to support our nation's livestock farmers and ranchers as they produce a sustainable and nutritious product for people around the world to enjoy.
Matthew J. McClanahan is an attorney in East and Middle Tennessee. His family owns and operates a beef cattle farm in Crossville. McClanahan serves on the state executive committee for Tennessee Young Farmers and Ranchers, is a board member of the Tennessee Parks and Greenways Foundation, teaches environmental law at Tennessee Tech University, and is a participant in the Partners in Advocacy Leadership program for the American Farm Bureau Federation.
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December 16, 2019 at 06:00AM
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Consumers should do homework before buying meat alternatives | Opinion - Tennessean
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