Hacker News Board Hacker News, browsed like a classic message board
Live data from Hacker News

Texas lawmakers approve bill banning 'meat' & 'beef' on plant-based food labels

thehill.com

Post reply on HN
Print view View original

61–70 of 96 posts

Re: Texas lawmakers approve bill banning 'meat' & 'beef' on plant-based food labels

#61

Post by Digory »

plntbsd wrote: post #53
superkuh wrote: post #25

This is good legislation getting ahead of the inevitable problems when actually good tasting textured vegetable proteins become cheaper than meat. Once it's cheaper than meat it will be used to replace meat to cut costs in anything at all packaged or processed. The labeling requirements will be needed for consumer protection. It seems like it's a broken legislature being right twice a day kind of thing. They're propo…

No. I hate to burst your bubble but governments, especially local do not work like this. More than likely a few lawmakers got generous donations from Tyson, Cargill et all

Tyson? Nah, these are the thousands of ranchers spread around Texas.

Tyson looks forward to selling you chicken-a-la-vat, and will pay handily to get a federal exception to this rule in a few years.

Re: Texas lawmakers approve bill banning 'meat' & 'beef' on plant-based food labels

#62

Post by astura »

stjohnswarts wrote: post #18
hoppyhoppy2 wrote: post #15

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Are "soy milk" and "almond milk" and "oat milk" off-limits, too? Since none of them are actually female mammal secretions, what should we call them instead ?

We should also cancel coconut milk even though it's been an expression for hundreds of years. It's only right.

I guess milk of magnesia has to go with it too then.

Re: Texas lawmakers approve bill banning 'meat' & 'beef' on plant-based food labels

#63

Post by igetspam »

plntbsd wrote: post #53
superkuh wrote: post #25

This is good legislation getting ahead of the inevitable problems when actually good tasting textured vegetable proteins become cheaper than meat. Once it's cheaper than meat it will be used to replace meat to cut costs in anything at all packaged or processed. The labeling requirements will be needed for consumer protection. It seems like it's a broken legislature being right twice a day kind of thing. They're propo…

No. I hate to burst your bubble but governments, especially local do not work like this. More than likely a few lawmakers got generous donations from Tyson, Cargill et all

Tyson is heavily invested in plant based proteins. They want in, not out. Cargill for sure though.

Re: Texas lawmakers approve bill banning 'meat' & 'beef' on plant-based food labels

#65

Post by finnthehuman »

woopwoop wrote: post #31

Is the premise here that beyond beef et al. are trying to trick customers into thinking they are buying regular beef? A moment's thought reveals that to be utterly absurd. Their business model is entirely dependent on people buying their product specifically because it is plant-based. Seems like old-fashioned protection of a favored industry.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wyngz

I let google autocomplete "Beyond" and found "Beyond Bread." Without looking, and without previous brand recognition, tell me what "beyond" bread means.

Re: Texas lawmakers approve bill banning 'meat' & 'beef' on plant-based food labels

#66

Post by ub99 »

dragonwriter wrote: post #36
ub99 wrote: post #20

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Right… the primary motivation of Texas lawmakers is that they are concerned about people being fooled… I want to be able to buy non-dairy yogurt and non-dairy mayo. Not “yellow paste” or “white soft creamy desert”. There is nothing wrong with products adapting to new realities and offering alternatives under the same general name. These products are clearly labeled already. The only reason to introduce this legislati…

> I want to be able to buy non-dairy yogurt no such thing exists. Velveeta can't even be called “cheese spread” despite having more similarity to any reasonable definition of that term than any non-dairy simulant has to yogurt. If people want to sell and buy plant-based yogurt-style products, that’s fine, but sellers of sich goods shouldn’t expect to be allowed to call them “yogurt”.

I am holding in my hands right now a container that is labeled Cashewmilk Yogurt (produced by Forager). It’s a great tasting non dairy yogurt. Highly recommend!

Re: Texas lawmakers approve bill banning 'meat' & 'beef' on plant-based food labels

#67

Post by igetspam »

quantified wrote: post #52
plntbsd wrote: post #46

This is actually a good thing for plant based food producers and veganism in general. Less emulation of nasty animal parts is a good thing.

Seems more of a truth in labeling measure. A product won’t be allowed to say it contains the meat if it doesn’t. Also says that it cannot claim to imitate the meat if it doesn’t. But the bar for “sufficiently imitates to be allowed to say it imitates” is unclear. Any poor imitation of a Picasso is still an imitation. Talking about “hamburger” is laughable, as ground-up people from Hamburg is forbidden by most culinar…

Define meat. Go check. We'll wait.

I'll be hear eating some coconut meat while you look.

Re: Texas lawmakers approve bill banning 'meat' & 'beef' on plant-based food labels

#68

Post by igetspam »

Digory wrote: post #59
arblomp wrote: post #5

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> The bill will also keep companies that produce food from...cell cultures, not slaughtered animals, from using the label “meat,” Do we need to make up a new word for “chunks of bovine muscle tissue” if it wasn’t cut out of a whole-ish cow? Sounds to me like it’s about entrenched farming interests throwing red tape at a perceived threat, not “truth in advertising”. No plant burger or vegan cheeze on the market is nef…

I think it makes sense to standardize some word for the difference, especially since you’re talking about a commodity. I imagine cheap meat is going to be qualitatively different than cheap Meetabix or whatever they will call it for some years. “It came from a cow” will impose some kind of minimum quality standard — and it’s not clear that standard will always be met in a non standardized market of bovine cell grower…

What's the quality standard you're protecting? Suffering? Slaughter? Loss of animal life?

Re: Texas lawmakers approve bill banning 'meat' & 'beef' on plant-based food labels

#69

Post by hoppyhoppy2 »

astura wrote: post #62
stjohnswarts wrote: post #18

Earlier quoted context omitted.

We should also cancel coconut milk even though it's been an expression for hundreds of years. It's only right.

I guess milk of magnesia has to go with it too then.

We might also need to rename the Milky Way galaxy. (Or is it acceptable because it's only milk-Y?)

Re: Texas lawmakers approve bill banning 'meat' & 'beef' on plant-based food labels

#70

Post by ub99 »

quantified wrote: post #52
plntbsd wrote: post #46

This is actually a good thing for plant based food producers and veganism in general. Less emulation of nasty animal parts is a good thing.

Seems more of a truth in labeling measure. A product won’t be allowed to say it contains the meat if it doesn’t. Also says that it cannot claim to imitate the meat if it doesn’t. But the bar for “sufficiently imitates to be allowed to say it imitates” is unclear. Any poor imitation of a Picasso is still an imitation. Talking about “hamburger” is laughable, as ground-up people from Hamburg is forbidden by most culinar…

Hmm, which products right now claim to contain meat when they don’t?
Post reply on HN