4 ms·

Vegan products enjoy a healthy markup, and vegan stuff sells nicely. No producer is relegating the fact that their product is vegan to some fine print in the ho

Vegan products enjoy a healthy markup, and vegan stuff sells nicely. No producer is relegating the fact that their product is vegan to some fine print in the hopes to trick someone trying to buy animal meat. Has anyone ever mistaken vegan meat alternatives for the real deal?

phkahler 3y ago
>> Has anyone ever mistaken vegan meat alternatives for the real deal? Yes. And the mistake can be fatal given some allergies.
- danielbln 3y ago
  That is such a straw-man, c'mon. If you're that allergic, you better look at the ingredients list and don't just hope for the best when glancing at the label, especially in the US of A.
  - thomastjeffery 3y ago
    If you have had an allergy your whole life, and never once had any meat product contained that allergen, then are you really going to check the packaging? What if you thought you were getting the same thing you always get, assuming the packaging only changed slightly?
  - phkahler 3y ago
    Its not a strawman. Calling plants steak, ribs (see TFA) or even burgers is just playing word games in an area that actually means something to people. I'd say Amy argument in favor of that is some kind of BS argument. To be clear, I have no issue with the products, just the deliberately deceptive naming.
treis 3y ago
Of course they do. Take this one for example: https://www.walmart.com/ip/Field-Roast-Refrigerated-Classic-Smoked-Frankfurter-Plant-Based-Sausages-16-oz/165920741?wl13=3067&selectedSellerId=0 https://www.walmart.com/ip/Field-Roast-Refrigerated-Classic-... They relegate any mention of not being meat to the third most prominent text. Hilariously they even split the plant based from the meat and cheese co with the intention to fool you. The text is: (Small text) Plant Based (Big text) Field Roast (Small text) Meat and cheese co Like they're not even trying to hide that they're hiding what their product is. ETA: Contrast with coconut milk: https://www.walmart.com/ip/Silk-Dairy-Free-Gluten-Free-Unsweet-Coconut-Milk-64-fl-oz-Half-Gallon/37910813?athbdg=L1600&from=/search https://www.walmart.com/ip/Silk-Dairy-Free-Gluten-Free-Unswe... Any mention of "Milk" is like the 4th or 5th most prominent text. This is clearly a product that is not cow milk and doesn't want to be mistaken for cow milk.
- danielbln 3y ago
  Right below it says "Plant based Frankfurters" in a font only slightly smaller than the rest. No-where does it mention meat, there is no animal printed on it and plant-based is mentioned twice, right on the front label, once in small, once in medium letters. I mean, what do you expect? I'm all for producers not fooling customers, but compared to really egregious things you sometimes see in the US, your example doesn't strike me as deceptive at all.
  - treis 3y ago
    >No-where does it mention meat It's literally called "meat and cheese co". You have to look above the branded and bold FIELD ROAST to see that it's a "plant based meat and cheese co". You've gone from: >Vegan products enjoy a healthy markup, and vegan stuff sells nicely. No producer is relegating the fact that their product is vegan to some fine print To quibbling about whether clearly secondary text counts as "fine print". It's not an honest argument. To further illustrate, I never said "fine print". I said "small text". You're trying to shift my goal posts in order to find some fig leaf to be right.
    - danielbln 3y ago
      I'm not quibbling, and disagree with the notion that I'm doing dishonest discourse. I merely disagree with you that the package as you have linked it is deceptive, and that it is in my opinion not in need of further regulation. What does an appropriate packaging for a plant based sausage look like to you?
      - deleted 3y ago
        [deleted]
      - treis 3y ago
        >disagree with the notion that I'm doing dishonest discourse. I merely disagree with you that the package as you have linked it is deceptive Nah, the chain was: Me: They mimick meat products as closely as they can and relegate the vegetarian part to the small text You: Vegan products enjoy a healthy markup, and vegan stuff sells nicely. No producer is relegating the fact that their product is vegan to some fine print in the hopes to trick someone trying to buy animal meat Anyone engaging in honest debate would look at the package I linked and see that it doesn't look like anything you describe. They also wouldn't say "No-where does it mention meat" and then completely ignore the fact that "meat and cheese co" is on the package when pointed out.
demurgos 3y ago
> Has anyone ever mistaken vegan meat alternatives for the real deal? Yes, I was in Portugal this summer for vacations. I don't know the language and was shopping for groceries. In the meat aisle I saw a package and recognized the word for "sausage" in big so just bought some. Later at home I discovered that it was a vegan product. I did not really mind, but the packaging felt quite deceptive. Obviously it's not an every day occurrence to shop in a foreign country, and it would have been solved if I carefully analyzed the products I pick; but I just wanted to get some groceries quickly. There were no illustrations that would hint to a vegetarian composition.
r00fus 3y ago
I think the vegan stuff is taking the brunt of what the industry has done to other traditional ingredients. Replacing sugar with Sucralose or HFCS (it's hidden and not made clear). Replacing butter with palm oil. Randomly adding MSG and preservatives where they can get away with it. I am not some sort of traditionalist but the food industry hasn't regulated itself on things that deeply annoy consumers (given how retail shelf stocking works, consumers aren't the ones buying from food producers directly - it's the megastores). Absent shaking up retail business model, we need regulation so consumers' needs are represented.

phkahler 3y ago

>> Has anyone ever mistaken vegan meat alternatives for the real deal? Yes. And the mistake can be fatal given some allergies.

danielbln 3y ago
That is such a straw-man, c'mon. If you're that allergic, you better look at the ingredients list and don't just hope for the best when glancing at the label, especially in the US of A.
- thomastjeffery 3y ago
  If you have had an allergy your whole life, and never once had any meat product contained that allergen, then are you really going to check the packaging? What if you thought you were getting the same thing you always get, assuming the packaging only changed slightly?
- phkahler 3y ago
  Its not a strawman. Calling plants steak, ribs (see TFA) or even burgers is just playing word games in an area that actually means something to people. I'd say Amy argument in favor of that is some kind of BS argument. To be clear, I have no issue with the products, just the deliberately deceptive naming.

treis 3y ago

Of course they do. Take this one for example: https://www.walmart.com/ip/Field-Roast-Refrigerated-Classic-Smoked-Frankfurter-Plant-Based-Sausages-16-oz/165920741?wl13=3067&selectedSellerId=0 https://www.walmart.com/ip/Field-Roast-Refrigerated-Classic-... They relegate any mention of not being meat to the third most prominent text. Hilariously they even split the plant based from the meat and cheese co with the intention to fool you. The text is: (Small text) Plant Based (Big text) Field Roast (Small text) Meat and cheese co Like they're not even trying to hide that they're hiding what their product is. ETA: Contrast with coconut milk: https://www.walmart.com/ip/Silk-Dairy-Free-Gluten-Free-Unsweet-Coconut-Milk-64-fl-oz-Half-Gallon/37910813?athbdg=L1600&from=/search https://www.walmart.com/ip/Silk-Dairy-Free-Gluten-Free-Unswe... Any mention of "Milk" is like the 4th or 5th most prominent text. This is clearly a product that is not cow milk and doesn't want to be mistaken for cow milk.

danielbln 3y ago
Right below it says "Plant based Frankfurters" in a font only slightly smaller than the rest. No-where does it mention meat, there is no animal printed on it and plant-based is mentioned twice, right on the front label, once in small, once in medium letters. I mean, what do you expect? I'm all for producers not fooling customers, but compared to really egregious things you sometimes see in the US, your example doesn't strike me as deceptive at all.
- treis 3y ago
  >No-where does it mention meat It's literally called "meat and cheese co". You have to look above the branded and bold FIELD ROAST to see that it's a "plant based meat and cheese co". You've gone from: >Vegan products enjoy a healthy markup, and vegan stuff sells nicely. No producer is relegating the fact that their product is vegan to some fine print To quibbling about whether clearly secondary text counts as "fine print". It's not an honest argument. To further illustrate, I never said "fine print". I said "small text". You're trying to shift my goal posts in order to find some fig leaf to be right.
  - danielbln 3y ago
    I'm not quibbling, and disagree with the notion that I'm doing dishonest discourse. I merely disagree with you that the package as you have linked it is deceptive, and that it is in my opinion not in need of further regulation. What does an appropriate packaging for a plant based sausage look like to you?
    - deleted 3y ago
      [deleted]
    - treis 3y ago
      >disagree with the notion that I'm doing dishonest discourse. I merely disagree with you that the package as you have linked it is deceptive Nah, the chain was: Me: They mimick meat products as closely as they can and relegate the vegetarian part to the small text You: Vegan products enjoy a healthy markup, and vegan stuff sells nicely. No producer is relegating the fact that their product is vegan to some fine print in the hopes to trick someone trying to buy animal meat Anyone engaging in honest debate would look at the package I linked and see that it doesn't look like anything you describe. They also wouldn't say "No-where does it mention meat" and then completely ignore the fact that "meat and cheese co" is on the package when pointed out.

demurgos 3y ago

> Has anyone ever mistaken vegan meat alternatives for the real deal? Yes, I was in Portugal this summer for vacations. I don't know the language and was shopping for groceries. In the meat aisle I saw a package and recognized the word for "sausage" in big so just bought some. Later at home I discovered that it was a vegan product. I did not really mind, but the packaging felt quite deceptive. Obviously it's not an every day occurrence to shop in a foreign country, and it would have been solved if I carefully analyzed the products I pick; but I just wanted to get some groceries quickly. There were no illustrations that would hint to a vegetarian composition.

r00fus 3y ago

I think the vegan stuff is taking the brunt of what the industry has done to other traditional ingredients. Replacing sugar with Sucralose or HFCS (it's hidden and not made clear). Replacing butter with palm oil. Randomly adding MSG and preservatives where they can get away with it. I am not some sort of traditionalist but the food industry hasn't regulated itself on things that deeply annoy consumers (given how retail shelf stocking works, consumers aren't the ones buying from food producers directly - it's the megastores). Absent shaking up retail business model, we need regulation so consumers' needs are represented.