I think it’s kinda neat how in some countries you can’t just call food whatever the hell you want.
Like the EU doesn’t allow vegan products to mis appropriate the names of dairy products, it isn’t legal to sell “vegan cheese” because “vegan cheese” doesn’t meet the definition of what cheese is or how it is made. So no vegan mac and cheese. Similarly many American “cheese” products can’t be called cheese in the EU because they also do not meet the fundamental definition of cheese even if they are flavored like or patterned like or similar in some way to cheese.
France will place in effect a law in October which bans the use of “meat” names for vegan products- if it doesn’t contain animal products you won’t be able to call something a “steak” or “bacon” etc. I have mixed feelings on this. I think it’s good to protect the integrity of language for food but I also think the intent should be focused on that- clear definition. So the term “milk” is unambiguous- milk comes from mammals…
.. plants do not make milk. Of course we must be fair in this regard and also remove references to “milk” from foods and its wether they contain animal products or not, if they don’t meet the criteria for milk in some way.
Some terms I think are more ambiguous. “Sausage” in some definitions is explicit that a sausage contains meat, and traditionally sausage casing was intestine. In modern times a sausage casing is often processed material and not intestine, and nothing about a sausage implies it must be a meat product or hints at what it contains beyond being a tube with spices and filling. There are many types of sausage and simply asking for a “sausage” can get you a vast array of very different items. So words like sausage or hotdog should probably be allowed for plant products too- and sausage should just require the “long name” be given such as “pork sausage” “mixed meat sausage” “tofu sausage” etc.
“Steak” refers specifically to meat cut across the muscle. The term steak should only be allowed for products which fit this definition- including meats that are not cut from across the muscle and should not be allowed to be referenced as steak in product descriptions or names.
So I think there is nuance but that limiting what can be called certain terms, including plant based or animal based products, is a good idea for consumer protection and general commerce.
Many vegan advocate groups argue that not allowing the names of existing products has a negative impact on adoption of vegan products. Another common argument is that naming vegan products around traditional animal based products helps consumers understand where a vegan product fits in a meal. Is this a main or a side dish? How should it be prepared, presented, paired with food or drink, is it meant for breakfast or dinner or what? I think there is validity to those claims but they are ultimately invalid.
What I mean is this- those things are true, but shouldn’t compromise the integrity of food naming. One major argument is that the average consumer would not mistake a tofu steak for a meat product. That’s debatable based on your confidence in the average persons intelligence, and “plant based meat” has increased in sophistication at mimicking the look and character of animal products.
But let’s assume that is true. Ok. Now let’s flip the table. What if I called a rack of pork ribs “Pork vegan ribs…” we could argue that a vegan is smart enough to realize this is an animal product, so why can’t we label things as “vegan cow milk” since again- we told you it is from a cow, so you should know it has animal products right? Those examples and more like them point to where the argument that consumers can tell a plant product are misguided. Such loose standards create a confusing experience for shoppers.
It isn’t just meat eating consumers who can be mislead- as the gap between plant based and animal based food experiences narrows, names become even more critical in Waikato identifying foods. While one may check ingredients at the grocery store, this can be more difficult when dining out or ordering food online. It can be done, but it adds a layer of dystopian complexity to eating. Should a person need to check the ingredients in their steak or milk to know they aren’t getting a waffle colored like a steak? Should a person need to check the ingredients to know their almond paste doesn’t have beef entrails in it? These are sort of anchors of reality. It becomes very hard to live your life freely when you have to ask if the glass of water you are served is made of hydrogen and oxygen and trace minerals or if it is water made from oranges or boiled chicken. Water is a term that should define the basic fundamentals of the product and anything else needs a name like Carbonated water.
Vegans sadly are used to needing to check every little thing because products most people wouidn’t assume have animal products in them often do. This is a big part of why we need to really define product names. A vegan should be able to go to the store and buy a can of vegetable broth and not wonder if it has anything but plants in it.
A Muslim should be able to go to the store and buy a frozen “steak sandwich” and not worry it has pork in it. Etc etc.
Many people, vegan and non vegan should also look to the future and consider that plant and animal harvested products aren’t the only ones that will be on the shelves imitating each other. Many people don’t want to eat bugs (even if many products already contain insect based products like dyes etc..) Some vegans consider bug products to be animal and regardless of you’re vegan or not, some people just don’t want to eat a bug sandwich. So as big based meat alternatives hit the store shelves more, wouldn’t most consumers want to…
.. know if the creamy yellow goo they are about to put on their toast or potatoes is butter from a cow, plant matter, or made of of mashed up bugs or the secretions of insects processed into a thick spread?
Advances in cell cultured meat are moving along, with the largest specimens yet having been grown in labs. The look is still a bit odd, but supposedly the taste is there.
Now- for vegans this may be a blessing or a curse. Wether an individual vegan would consider cell cultured meat “vegan” is debatable. It’s from an animal, or is literally meat, but no animals have to suffer or die to make it. Those who are vegan for environmental reasons wouldn’t have cause to object if the environmental impact of cell cultured meat were similar to that of non meat products. Legally- it differs place to place- the USA however doesn’t have a legal standard for vegan food. Whoever makes the food is free to call it vegan if THEY think it is vegan. One place might cook food in animal oil…
But because the food has no animal products call it vegan. Another may consider food cooked in the same plant oil that animal products are made in to be vegan. Another place might decide that just because the sprinkles on the non animal based ice cream have an ingredient with animal hooves in them doesn’t mean the dish isn’t vegan. If I were a vegan that would be outrageous to me. You can just call a thing vegan even if it has animal products or animal matter will be consumed with it. So protecting the definitions of foods impacts vegans too. Back to our cell cultured meat- such meat could be labeled vegan. It could be used in products that are vegan. Other animal products could be gained via cell culturing or through processing of cell cultured meats and those could be marked vegan or find their way to vegan products. The ambiguity in food definitions and labeling also means that they wouldn’t necessarily have to identify these products clearly as having an animal source….
They technically don’t, or the chain between the product and an animal is so convoluted they can be said to be no more connected to an animal source than any random plant or mineral based product. The byproducts of such cultured animal products could be labeled as obscure chemical names and amino acids etc. or even possibly lumped in to “catch all” categories like “contains certain amino acids etc.” that tells you nothing useful. So it isn’t just “meat eaters” who stand to lose if we don’t protect the integrity of food identification. Vegan or not, if we aren’t careful on moving forward with labeling and naming food, the already confusing mess will get worse and no one is going to be able to easily tell of they’re eating a plant or animal or bug or some synthesized version of the above.
-Save the environment
-lower population
-still a vegetarian
-still get to eat meat
-profit
Like the EU doesn’t allow vegan products to mis appropriate the names of dairy products, it isn’t legal to sell “vegan cheese” because “vegan cheese” doesn’t meet the definition of what cheese is or how it is made. So no vegan mac and cheese. Similarly many American “cheese” products can’t be called cheese in the EU because they also do not meet the fundamental definition of cheese even if they are flavored like or patterned like or similar in some way to cheese.
France will place in effect a law in October which bans the use of “meat” names for vegan products- if it doesn’t contain animal products you won’t be able to call something a “steak” or “bacon” etc. I have mixed feelings on this. I think it’s good to protect the integrity of language for food but I also think the intent should be focused on that- clear definition. So the term “milk” is unambiguous- milk comes from mammals…
Some terms I think are more ambiguous. “Sausage” in some definitions is explicit that a sausage contains meat, and traditionally sausage casing was intestine. In modern times a sausage casing is often processed material and not intestine, and nothing about a sausage implies it must be a meat product or hints at what it contains beyond being a tube with spices and filling. There are many types of sausage and simply asking for a “sausage” can get you a vast array of very different items. So words like sausage or hotdog should probably be allowed for plant products too- and sausage should just require the “long name” be given such as “pork sausage” “mixed meat sausage” “tofu sausage” etc.
So I think there is nuance but that limiting what can be called certain terms, including plant based or animal based products, is a good idea for consumer protection and general commerce.
Many vegan advocate groups argue that not allowing the names of existing products has a negative impact on adoption of vegan products. Another common argument is that naming vegan products around traditional animal based products helps consumers understand where a vegan product fits in a meal. Is this a main or a side dish? How should it be prepared, presented, paired with food or drink, is it meant for breakfast or dinner or what? I think there is validity to those claims but they are ultimately invalid.
But let’s assume that is true. Ok. Now let’s flip the table. What if I called a rack of pork ribs “Pork vegan ribs…” we could argue that a vegan is smart enough to realize this is an animal product, so why can’t we label things as “vegan cow milk” since again- we told you it is from a cow, so you should know it has animal products right? Those examples and more like them point to where the argument that consumers can tell a plant product are misguided. Such loose standards create a confusing experience for shoppers.
A Muslim should be able to go to the store and buy a frozen “steak sandwich” and not worry it has pork in it. Etc etc.
Many people, vegan and non vegan should also look to the future and consider that plant and animal harvested products aren’t the only ones that will be on the shelves imitating each other. Many people don’t want to eat bugs (even if many products already contain insect based products like dyes etc..) Some vegans consider bug products to be animal and regardless of you’re vegan or not, some people just don’t want to eat a bug sandwich. So as big based meat alternatives hit the store shelves more, wouldn’t most consumers want to…
Advances in cell cultured meat are moving along, with the largest specimens yet having been grown in labs. The look is still a bit odd, but supposedly the taste is there.
Now- for vegans this may be a blessing or a curse. Wether an individual vegan would consider cell cultured meat “vegan” is debatable. It’s from an animal, or is literally meat, but no animals have to suffer or die to make it. Those who are vegan for environmental reasons wouldn’t have cause to object if the environmental impact of cell cultured meat were similar to that of non meat products. Legally- it differs place to place- the USA however doesn’t have a legal standard for vegan food. Whoever makes the food is free to call it vegan if THEY think it is vegan. One place might cook food in animal oil…