Fake meat is real news in the food chain

WAITING FOR AN EARLYMORNING oil change last week, my wife and I killed some time with a breakfast visit to the nearest fast-food restaurant, which happened to be A&W.

A&W is not my first choice. I believe its nohormones, no-steroids campaign makes the entire Canadian beef sector look suspicious, a sector that’s actually renowned for quality and safety. Canada has a thorough, highly regulated meat inspection system. Implying farmers who do not supply meat to the A&W chain are operating outside the system is wrong.

I’m not alone. The chain has developed a deeply ingrained rural cadre of haters. In fact, many people in the farming sector will be disappointed that I gave A&W a nickel.

But within walking distance of my oil change, choices were limited.

Before ordering breakfast though, I was struck by a hastily constructed sign inside, illustrated with a frowning emoji, proclaiming that A&W’s Beyond Meat veggie burg-

er was unavailable.

“Our Beyond Meat Burgers are so popular, we have temporarily SOLD OUT!” the sign announced. It also promised more stock was on the way.

I’ve never had a Beyond Meat burger. My wife once tried one and said it was similar to a beef burger, except texture-wise, it didn’t hold together as well. The Toronto Star restaurant critic drooled over its ingredients – mung beans, brown rice, peas, sunflowers, potatoes, halved pomegranates and cracked coconuts – saying it tasted “Just. Right.”

Publically, the meat industry says everyone should have access to alternatives. But privately, it reels against the Beyond Meat burger’s popularity, and other unconventional alternatives. It’s paying attention to their success, even though sales of beef, Beyond Meat’s model, are not suffering and beef consumption in Canada is up for the second year in a row.

Still, there’s a sense that traditional meat production is falling behind as called flexitarianism rises, that’s it’s not sporting shiny new products like the Beyond Meat burger, and that it must take measures to regain public trust.

That’s especially true among young people. Research from the Canadian Centre for Food Integrity shows only two-thirds of millennials rate farmers as “believable” when it comes to the environment, compared to 70 per cent of the overall population. That’s a red flag, given farmers’ traditionally high standing among the public, and the fact that millennials are a key purchasing demographic.

In some areas, the meat sector is pushing back. For example, it’s trying to take action against the use of the word “meat” for animal-based protein developed in a lab. That’s understandable – in generic packaging, cultured meat might look similar to some kinds of conventional meat, and send consumers into a tailspin.

However – and this is hard for the meat sector to accept – we may be entering a period in which some people consider radical alternatives such as cultured meat desirable. Traditional slaughter is avoided with cultured meat, and to some, slaughter is simply unacceptable.

And despite documented nutritional benefits of eating lean meat, in the UK, 71 per cent of consumers deem plant proteins to be healthier than their animal-based counterparts.

Some excellent examples of efforts to show beef production is sustainable – and in fact, helpful – exist in our own country. In Manitoba, farmers are involved in a program that shows how cattle grazing is helping preserve endangered bird species. In Ontario, crop and livestock farmers take part in a species-at-risk program to make parts of their property available for wildlife habitat.

Such stories must be told widely and repeatedly to help Canadians understand livestock production’s role, and emphasize the safe, wholesome and nutritious aspect of meat produced here in Canada.