Air NZ dares to fly in face of red meat brigade
Synthetic burgers being served up on some Air New Zealand flights may be good for the meat industry once people taste them, Agriculture Minister Damien O’Connor says.
“It may be a really good, positive thing for the meat industry if people taste it, don’t like it and eat real meat,” O’Connor said yesterday.
“Air New Zealand make their decisions, they’re not always smart. They pulled out of the regions, which I don’t agree with. The fact that they’re putting this burger on the menu is not going to undermine our meat industry. We’ve got a better story to tell.”
O’Connor said he had not tried a synthetic burger but was willing to in the name of research.
“I think I need to know what we’re facing up to. It’s an alternative and we’ve got to produce a product that’s ultimately better and more appealing.”
Acting Prime Minister Winston Peters said he was “utterly opposed to fake beef”.
“Air New Zealand is an airline that was built by the New Zealand taxpayer, that was privatised, was bailed out by the New Zealand taxpayer, is there because of the New Zealand taxpayer.”
Air New Zealand yesterday defended its record of promoting New Zealand and its products after Air New Zealand is giving customers a taste of the future with a new in-flight collaboration with Silicon Valley start-up Impossible Foods.
New Zealand First’s Mark Patterson and National’s Nathan Guy criticised it for serving up the plant-based “impossible burger”.
The burger, developed by Silicon Valley start-up Impossible Foods, will be served to business premier customers on two services from Los Angeles to Auckland until late October.
“We are a significant customer and supporter of the New Zealand meat
industry and spend millions of dollars each year purchasing beef and lamb sourced from around the country for our in-flight meals.
“In the past year alone, we proudly served around 1.3 million New Zealand sourced beef and lamb meals to customers from around the world,” the airline said.
“It is important to note that Air New Zealand performs a key role for our nation’s export industry . . .” Air New Zealand’s introduction of vegetarian burgers has got the country’s meat-eating advocates frothing at the mouth.
The airline is serving the “Impossible Burger”, with a patty containing a plant-based meat substitute developed by a San Francisco company, on flights between Los Angeles and Auckland until late October. Hang on a minute, a “plant-based meat substitute”? Like as in no animals being killed, and vegans can eat it? What is this, 2018 or something?
New Zealand First’s primary industries spokesman Mark Patterson called the burger a “slap in the face” for New Zealand’s red-meat producers and National’s gumbootwearing Nathan Guy leapt on to Twitter to vent: “We produce the most delicious steaks & lamb on the planet — GMO & hormone free. The national carrier should be pushing our premium products and helping sell NZ to the world.”
It’s PC gone mad! The national carrier serving vegetarian burgers! Next thing you know, they’ll be embracing LGBTI rights and using a common Ma¯ ori greeting as the title for their in-flight magazine!
The burger finds itself at the frontline in NZ Inc’s awkward transition from a primary-producing economy to a high-end consumer one. Tourism (worth $14.7 billion annually) recently overtook dairy ($14.2b) as the country’s top income earner. Some people don’t eat meat. While Patterson and Guy could be mollified by having a live calf slaughtered for veal at the front of the Business Premier cabin straight after the safety briefing, plenty of others are repulsed by red meat.
There are compelling environmental arguments for eating less red meat — from soil erosion, to water quality and CO2 emissions. (Declaration: I like steak, though I’m trying to eat a bit less of it these days for health and environmental reasons.)
This sustainability stuff fits right in with Air New Zealand’s branding. In the airline industry the national carrier is a leading light on environmental issues. Yes: They burn fossil fuels to fly people to Disneyland, but they display a greater awareness of and willingness to address environmental issues than, say, Fonterra. Cynical marketing? Possibly, but if it means a jet some day flies on 100 per cent bio-fuel, I’m all for it. If you think steak made in a lab is a challenge for the rural sector and NZ First backbenchers, wait until they start making perfect milk protein.