Woolworths puts faux, vegan mince in meat section of supermarkets

[chameleon54]

http://www.abc.net.au/news/rural/2018-06-16/meaning-of-mince-sparks-clash-between-supermarket-and-fa...

Woolworths has announced that it will sell its faux meat, plant based mince in the meat section of its fridges. As a proud Australian prime lamb producer I find this concerning. If people wish to go vego or vegan, that is entirely their choice and I respect the reasons for their decision not to eat meat products. BUT then for vegan food manufacturers to call plant based products "meat" or " meat substitutes " to be sold right along side beef or lamb is baffling and strange. Surely vegos are secure enough in their commitment to a non meat diet, that they dont need to have products copying meat and sold in the meat section of the supermarket.

I suspect that there are much darker reasons for supermarkets to take this action. Meat is a product that the major supermarkets have been unable to dominate and control. Its price and availability is affected by seasonal conditions, livestock feed costs and global competition for sometimes limited stocks. This results in quite wide fluctuations in supply and price. The supermarkets dont like variability, especially when they cant dominate a sector and control pricing to growers. They would much prefer that we all eat a standardised, homoginised pulp from a bag ( inside a brightly coloured cardboard box ) with a two year shelf life and 5 minute microwave cooking time. Faux meat is a product that the supermarkets can control in the same way they control margarine or biscuits.

I suspect the major supermarkets would like nothing better than for all consumers to turn vego so they can stop having to deal with, global competition, fresh produce and the pesky farmers who produce it. 

Once they have finished with meat, fresh fruit and veg could be the next sector to fall to supermarket dominance.

[joztamps]

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@chameleon54 wrote:

Once they have finished with meat, fresh fruit and veg could be the next sector to fall to supermarket dominance.

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They'll probably sell meat sausages in the fruit section as banana substitutes.

[ambercat16]

Ummm, they put the non cows milk with the cows milk - no-one objects.  They put the soy / tofu pretend meat products near the packaged ham, bacon etc - no-one objects.  They put the sugar substitute, the gluten free four products etc in the baking aisle right next to the 'real' sugal and flour and once more no-one objects.

Assuming the labelling indicates that the product is vegetable based, I can't see any problem.  I really don't think it is a subversive way to trick us all into becoming vegetarians.

[chameleon54]

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@ambercat16 wrote:

Ummm, they put the non cows milk with the cows milk - no-one objects.  They put the soy / tofu pretend meat products near the packaged ham, bacon etc - no-one objects.  They put the sugar substitute, the gluten free four products etc in the baking aisle right next to the 'real' sugal and flour and once more no-one objects.

Assuming the labelling indicates that the product is vegetable based, I can't see any problem.  I really don't think it is a subversive way to trick us all into becoming vegetarians.

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I think you will find, if you ask a dairy farmer wether he is happy to have non milk products sold along side real milk products they would object quite strongly. Farmers have been expressing concerns on these types of issues for several years now and it is an ongoing conversation in rural newspapers. Unfortunately these concerns rarely make into main stream media so people in the cities are unaware of the issues. 

As for supermarkets not having an agenda to control the supply chain and pricing...........   ummm........excuse me for a moment......

Spoiler

It would appear you are unaware of the investigations into supermarkets manipulation / dominance of producer suppliers and cartel practices conducted by several government regulatory authorities recently.

[lyhargr_0]

I cant really see what the problem is but then I dont buy supermarket meat   ..... Maybe "some" farmers aren't happy unless they are having a whinge lol

[chameleon54]

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@lyhargr_0 wrote:

I cant really see what the problem is but then I dont buy supermarket meat   ..... Maybe "some" farmers aren't happy unless they are having a whinge lol

Thats rather a sad,  worn out old cheap shot. Why not show us how intelligent you really are with some mature, adult, intillectual discussion ?

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The problem is similar to one that appears on endless ebay threads. Theft of intellectual property and substitution of the genuine article with poor quality copies. In this case the item concerned is a food product rather than clothing or pirated CD,s. Australian meat is regarded worldwide as some of the highest quality in the world. Much of it is produced either organically or with minimal chemicals. In the case of prime lamb, Australia is the largest exporter of processed lamb worldwide. 

While its true that many self indulged people don't see anything wrong with stealing an artists music through illegal downloads, or violating the rights of a manufacturer of quality products through cheap Chinese knock offs, ultimately it is theft of intellectual property. Companies who produce faux meat and sell it in the meat fridges of supermarkets are damaging the brand of the traditional product.

Another question is Why do vegans and vegetarians even want to eat fake meat ? If seems strange that those who choose to only eat a plant based diet would want to eat a product which claims to be a copy of meat. The answer is simple. Call it something else ( vegie burgers ? ) and have a separate section of the supermarket dedicated to the product. It makes vegie products easier to find for those who want them and protects the intellectual property rights of one of Australia's largest food industries at the same time. What is the problem with that ?

[lyhargr_0]

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@chameleon54 wrote:

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@lyhargr_0 wrote:

I cant really see what the problem is but then I dont buy supermarket meat   ..... Maybe "some" farmers aren't happy unless they are having a whinge lol

Thats rather a sad,  worn out old cheap shot. Why not show us how intelligent you really are with some mature, adult, intillectual discussion ?

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Ummm at least I am able spell intellectual   lol

[springyzone]

I'm wondering if it could just come down to the fact the product needs to be in a refrigerated section.

In our local Coles, pet food is in the meat section too. It has its own section on the end, but all the same, it's dog food and how much real meat is in it I have my doubts. probably a bit of meat and gristle and a lot of filler, or am i being cynical.

I think it's a difficult question in some ways as to where to place some items. I have a grandchild with dairy, egg & nut allergies so when I was looking for a substitute for when she comes over, I found nuttelex in the butter/margarine section. But my daughter mentioned a dairy & egg free mayonnaise & it took me ages to track down as it wasn't with other mayonnaises. I was frustrated no end searching.

My vote would go for things being wherever a person would logically go first to find it. 

With a vegan meat substitute, perhaps it could go in the refrigerated section with things like vegie burgers.

[chameleon54]

There are really two separate issues. The first is ensuring the definition of words such as meat and mince retain their traditional meaning to describe foods sourced from animals. Even most converted vegetarians will agree that faux meat and mince is a sub standard product that does not have the texture and flavour of real meat.

This is an issue of global concern and many countries including a number in Europe have already legislated to ensure fake meat products can not use the term mince or meat in their packaging and labelling. Its time Australia with its strong reliance on agricultural products, backed its farmers and caught up with the rest of the world on this issue.

The second issue is that these foods would be better placed in a dedicated section with other vegetarian and vegan foods. Not only would this avoid confusion it may even result in vegetarians finding more foods that suit their needs, as they would all be kept together. Often vegans and vegetarians find their food choices are limited and find it difficult to locate appropriate choices when vegetarian and vegan friendly foods are scattered throughout the store.

Basically if these faux meat products are correctly labelled and kept in an appropriate section with other vegetarian foods it is a win for all.

[springyzone]

I think if something is not meat, it should not be labelled as such.

It could be labelled eg minced whatever, because the word mince does not belong exclusively to meat, but I would not put the actual word meat anywhere in the title or name of the product.

And as you say, it would be better placed in the vegan section of the fridge.

My daughter is a vegetarian and a big label with meat on it could confuse her at first glance.

If i made such a product I would label it as what it is, but maybe in smaller print, write that it could be used wherever people might use meat in recipes eg in pies, casseroles. Just so it was clear to buyers how to use it. Maybe pop a recipe on the back. That's what lots of other items do.

All this reminds me a bit of.. political correctness is the wrong word, but along those lines.

Someone has decided we should not be eating as much meat & are to be pushed towards these products.

This has been happening over the last couple of years with gluten products. Gluten has been painted as almost evil, with the result people are buying gluten free items even if they have no allergy. In actual fact, the gluten free cakes & so on often have a heap more salt & sugar than the ones with gluten and might be worse for you.

Carbs have come in for a bashing, not always deserved.