What is meat?
Is it any kind of animal flesh? Can it be grown in a test tube? Does it have to be harvested in the “traditional” way? Does it even matter?
Yes it does matter, according to the U.S. Cattlemen’s Association (a beef industry group), which earlier this month filed a petition asking the USDA to develop a specific definition for “meat” and “beef.” One that requires animals to be raised and slaughtered in a traditional manner in order to be considered either.
But the beef industry has been around for centuries and never previously had a problem with labeling. Why file a petition now?
The alternative meat industry is catching fire
Turns out, there are other ways to make “beef” (or something close to it) in a lab. And several startups are doing it so successfully, the legacy beef industry is getting nervous.
You may have heard of these new companies: Memphis Meats, Mosa Meats, Impossible Foods, Beyond Meat, and more. They’re using innovative techniques to either grow “meat” in a lab with animal stem cells (known as “clean meat”), or mimic “meat” using alternative ingredients (“plant-based meat”).
Who else is hungry for alternative meat? Prominent investors. Bill Gates and Richard Branson have both invested in Memphis Meats, while food industry giants Cargill and Tyson Foods have also bought a stake in the startup. And the data backs up their bullish outlook. According to a survey by HealthFocus, 60% of consumers say they are cutting back on meat-based products.
So why is the U.S. Cattlemen’s Association drawing a line between “old beef” and “new beef”?
The cattlemen argue that labeling Beyond Meat’s alternative ingredient products (aka veggie burgers) as “meat” is deceiving to consumers. In order to call your products “meat,” you must raise and slaughter animals as a true cattlemen would (you hear the same argument from the dairy industry re: “soy milk”).
Bring it on, some alternative beef execs say. This new definition of “meat” could play directly into their hands, as consumers increasingly scrutinize the source of their food. And when faced with the stark choice of animal flesh or a synthetic product that’s close enough in taste, they could increasingly leave real meat sitting on the shelves.
The bottom line: This is the first shot fired in what will be a drawn-out war for the future of “meat.” Who will emerge victorious? The entrenched, legacy producers with centuries of history on their side? Or the upstart Silicon Valley lab-rats who’ve perfected the art of disrupting industries?