While I am a frequent supporter and consumer of plant-based milks and I have dabbled in plant-based “meats”, I do believe that there needs to be a clear labeling differentiation. If these products are wanting to be labeled as “meat” or “milk” there needs to be a large, clear identifier labeling that they are “plant-based”.
I know that in the past I have gone to the store looking for a particular product and accidentally stumbled across a product that is not what I initially thought it was. The most common example of this to me is sugar free products. I personally am not a fan of stevia or aspartame, so I try to avoid products containing those. It unfortunately has happened though that I purchased a stevia or aspartame containing product and am left disappointed and feeling as though I was scammed.
It is inherently wrong to be tricking consumers into purchasing plant-based products. If a consumer is wanting to be plant-based, then the products that are should be clearly labeled for their benefit. If a consumer is choosing not to purchase plant-based products that is their prerogative. 4% of Americans are vegan and 39% of Americans want to try to be vegan and reduce the amount of animal products they consume (Osborn). For plant-based meats in particular the largest audience is people who eat meat but are trying to transition away from eating as much. This shows that there is still a need for these products and there is no reason to be dishonest. I am not trying to be vegan yet I still purchase oat milk because I am lactose intolerant.
It is morally wrong for companies to be trying to trick consumers into buying their products. As we can see recently in food trends, transparency and brand to consumer communication is growing in popularity with customers supporting brands that are honest with their customers. Tricking customers into buying their plant-based products builds a level of distrust. Thus, I believe that laws enforcing truthful labeling are beneficial.
Statistics found: How Many Vegans Are In The US? 2024 Updated Numbers
Image from google.
Comments
Although I rarely buy plant-based meats or milk, I agree that labeling needs to be more transparent. I have family members who are gluten-free and have accidentally bought gluten products since they only had time to scan the package. Consumers do not have all day to read every ingredient of every product they buy, in this case, plant-based meat and milk should not be able to try and identify themselves as just meat or milk. I know I would be disappointed if I had accidentally purchased plant-based meat instead of animal meat.
While I do agree that plant-based products need to be labeled clearly, I think that companies are just trying to market their products as a very good imitation of meat products, so much so that you can’t tell the difference.
I agree. It’s incredibly frustrating to buy something from the store, and it turn out to consist of alternatives that ruin the reason I got this product over others. It should be on the producer to make obvious what changes they made to an existing recipe. So many companies try to find loopholes or do the bare minimum for their labels or make their package more appealing. As much as I respect trying to get consumer attention, if a company is going to use a label, they should be direct to customers how their ingredients or processed changed to produce it.
I can understand having a personal gripe with feeling like you are being tricked into purchasing things that aren’t labeled well, but if I’m soeaking from personal experience, I eat a wide variety of vegan items and I feel like they’re all clearly not trying to pretend to be meat and dairy. No one attacks gluten free bread for looking like bread. Things should be labeled clearly for everyone to understand but banning the usage of certain words for a product that harms nobody is something I don’t personally agree with.
I agree that these companies need to specify that their product is not the real thing and is instead plant-based. As far as marketing goes, I feel like even if someone is planning on buying an alternate product, they will go for the one that looks most like the “real thing.” This would encourage companies to make their products have packaging that makes them look like the real thing but could unintentionally trick other consumers into purchasing their products.