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France bans veggie ′steaks,′ ′sausages′ to describe vegetarian products

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Re: France bans veggie ′steaks,′ ′sausages′ to describe vegetarian products

#81
post #36
post #29

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The ruling was that they could call it things like "vegan cheese", not an unqualified "cheese".

So then we should be able to use the term "real vegan cheese", but not an unqualified "vegan cheese".

"better than vegan cheese" should walk the line of accuracy, deception, and marketing.

Re: France bans veggie ′steaks,′ ′sausages′ to describe vegetarian products

#83
post #62
post #42

Yes, yes! This is common sense. Do not try and ride the coattails of existing products to sell a product that is the opposite of the products it's pretending to be. Be honest. It's an plant-based protein burrito it's not a damned "chik'n burrito" or "sliced cheeze". And don't get me started with the "milks". It's a freaking emulsion oat-grain emulsion, or oat beverage. What's nexy Coca-cola with a white fizzy drink,…

Not sure what product you're referring to. To use a concrete example: Impossible Burger is not opposite of burger but 100% designed to be impossible to tell apart from a cow burger. So it's common sense to also call it a burger.

'burger' no longer refers to Hamburger sandwiches only. So we have chicken burgers, veggie burgers, fish burgers, etc. Where 'burger' is shorthand for hot bun-sandwich. So I'm okay with "impossible burger" I would not be okay with "Impossible Hamburger" A Hamburger would refer to a sandwich made of ground meat --originally a Hamburg steak.

Re: France bans veggie ′steaks,′ ′sausages′ to describe vegetarian products

#84

Earlier quoted context omitted.

In the US, at least, most commercial sausages are made with artificial casings, rather than gut casings. I'd be surprised if that wasn't also the case in France as it makes industrial-scale production a lot easier without much difference in end product. Despite their efforts, dictionary definitions aren't always in sync with common usage, and it seems obvious that the latter is what we should regulate on.

Eh, I remember being confused about American breakfast sausage being served with no regard to the casing. These terms aren’t perfectly portable across languages.

american breakfast sausage as given by many fast food places is usually some kind of pork or pork+beef patty with heavy sage seasoning. I've had success faking it with extra lean ground turkey and it was almost exactly the same.

Re: France bans veggie ′steaks,′ ′sausages′ to describe vegetarian products

#86
post #53
post #26

Earlier quoted context omitted.

That would be completely fair, assuming the reverse is true as well. That is, being able to sell real cheese as "vegan cheese" to trick vegans into eating it. I was tricked into buying vegan sausages. They don't deserve protection either.

I imagine this was probably user error on your part. The vegan cheese is usually on the other end of the grocery store from the real cheese, and also usually says 'vegan' prominently, and also there are only like 2-3 brands that make vegan cheese (Miyoko, Daiya, maybe 1 other?). And vegans still usually have to read the ingredients to make sure. Non-vegans could probably do the same if it were that important.

Ah yes, when something is confusing, blame the user. Classic.

Re: France bans veggie ′steaks,′ ′sausages′ to describe vegetarian products

#87
post #53
post #26

Earlier quoted context omitted.

That would be completely fair, assuming the reverse is true as well. That is, being able to sell real cheese as "vegan cheese" to trick vegans into eating it. I was tricked into buying vegan sausages. They don't deserve protection either.

I imagine this was probably user error on your part. The vegan cheese is usually on the other end of the grocery store from the real cheese, and also usually says 'vegan' prominently, and also there are only like 2-3 brands that make vegan cheese (Miyoko, Daiya, maybe 1 other?). And vegans still usually have to read the ingredients to make sure. Non-vegans could probably do the same if it were that important.

Ah, the “you’re holding it wrong” argument re-contextualized as “you’re just shopping wrong”.

Unfortunately that is not always the case. I don’t know about the parent but I accidentally bought a “Chick’n Burrito” that was right next to the meat burritos. It did not taste like chicken.

Could it have been avoided had I been more careful? Sure! On the other hand vegan dishes taste better than fake meat dishes and I really don’t appreciate the intentionally misleading labeling riding on the good PR of “chicken” and “butter” to try to sell their fakes. Missing a character swap or substitution is not a difficult thing for literate people who are also very tired at the end of the day.

Re: France bans veggie ′steaks,′ ′sausages′ to describe vegetarian products

#88
post #28

The US meat and dairy industry have asked for similar bans as well. The problem is, consumers aren't actually confused. Different names will used if need be and consumers will continue the trend of reducing their meat consumption for environmental, health, or ethical reasons.

> The problem is, consumers aren't actually confused. Nonsense! I was tricked. They: * make the products look like real sausages and cheese * sell them in the same packages * label them in large letters as the real thing * write "vegan" in small letters * put them next to the real things It's all done to trick people.

They do this with eye drops, too. If you're not careful, you'll get homeopathic eye drops which are just water. And it's hard to see tiny print when your eyes are sore and they sell them in the pharmacy, next to real medicine.

I'm still not sure what "apis" is, but I hesitate to put anything related to bees in my eyes, given that this is a common allergen and I'm allergic to enough things already. One can only hope they dilute it out properly, or it might be worse than useless.

Re: France bans veggie ′steaks,′ ′sausages′ to describe vegetarian products

#89
post #78
post #13

It's getting ridiculous here in Sweden. Actual product names (they tend to use English, sometimes with intentional misspellings to get around regulations, I assume): "Vegan Grated Ch se" ( https://assets.icanet.se/t_product_large_2x_v1,f_auto/731024... ) "Roast Beaf - Plant-based cold cut" ( https://assets.icanet.se/t_product_large_2x_v1,f_auto/735003... ) "Parveggio - grated" ( https://assets.icanet.se/t_product_lar…

You see some of these in the USA, too, for example, "Veggie Chik'n": https://www.morningstarfarms.com/en_US/products/meal-starter...

Or wyngz to get around the fact that boneless wings are typically made from breast meat.

Re: France bans veggie ′steaks,′ ′sausages′ to describe vegetarian products

#90
post #38
post #28

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> The problem is, consumers aren't actually confused. Nonsense! I was tricked. They: * make the products look like real sausages and cheese * sell them in the same packages * label them in large letters as the real thing * write "vegan" in small letters * put them next to the real things It's all done to trick people.

At my local grocery store in Massachusetts, some fake meat products are now displayed in the meat section. The thing is though, they (Beyond, etc.) are sometimes more expensive than meat! In some contexts its considered the premium product, and its also there so people having a barbecue or something can provide an option for non-meat eaters. I don't believe at all that they're trying to trick anyone--its more than th…

IIRC, Beyond Meat requires that their products be displayed in the meat case because their target customer is a meat-eater.
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