New 'Meat-Free Bacon' Sparks Outrage As Shoppers Demand Store Change Name

Oct 03, 2021 by apost team

Meat eaters in the U.K. are in an uproar over a new product at the supermarket chain ALDI: plant-based bacon strips. At the end of September, the supermarket giant posted a promotional photo of the new “meat-free bacon” on their U.K. Facebook page, only to receive an outpouring of negative comments from frustrated customers. Since ALDI posted the photo, it has received more than 10,000 comments, many of which make the argument that it’s misleading to call the product “bacon,” as it doesn’t contain meat. Other customers were angered by the very idea of fake make.

However, many of the comments are also supportive of the product, thanking the chain for providing an affordable, meat-free alternative to bacon.

The conversation surrounding ALDI’s meat-free bacon is part of a larger debate about plant-based products and their labels. As of October 2020, Lousiana grocery stores are banned from using the labels “veggie burger” or “plant-based sausage.” The rationale behind the ban is that consumers might be misled or get confused about whether these products contain meat.

Other states like Mississippi and Arkansas have tried to pass similar laws to limit what grocery stores can classify as meat.

As plant-based products gain in popularity, the debate is spreading to other states and countries like the U.K., where multiple media outlets have covered consumers’ outrage over a bacon substitute labeled as “meat-free bacon.”

Companies that produce vegan and vegetarian alternatives have been responding to critics and fighting back against legal actions that try to limit what classifies as a “vegan burger,” a “vegetarian sausage” and other meat substitutes. 

 “You can't call it bacon... bacon is cured pork and this looks more like putty,” Cheryl Armsden replied to ALDI U.K.’s Facebook post.

Another critic wrote, “It saddens me to my very core that this is not called ‘FAKEN’...”

However, not everyone was against calling the product “meat-free bacon.”

In a comment that received over 400 interactions, Sarah Lawton defended the product, writing, “For those complaining about it being called bacon because you want it described accurately. Maybe the meat version should be called ‘sliced pig back or side’. You know, for the sake of accuracy and all that.”

Even a self-proclaimed meat lover defended the product.

“'m not a vegan or veggie at all, really love meat and dairy products, BUT I don't get why people get so annoyed by stuff like this. I think it's great having a wide range of food options for vegans and veggies. Sometimes I try them myself as well for a change,” Jennie Huskisson wrote.

Besides consumers, companies are also battling it out to determine what grocery stores can label plant-based meat and dairy substitutes. 

According to the Plant Based Foods Association, U.S. sales of plant-based meats grew 27 percent in 2020.

Given that the growing plant-based food market is a threat to the meat and dairy industry, many of these companies are lobbying for measures like the one in Louisiana, though some have chosen to simply invest in plant-based alternatives, too. The New York Times even ran a story headlined “The Fake Meat War.”

apost.com

“We must protect our industry in this state: agriculture. It’s the number one industry in the state of Louisiana,” argued Francis Thompson, the Lousiana bill’s sponsor in the senate.

As for the claim that consumers are confused by plant-based labels, Impossible Foods’ chief communications officer Rachel Konrad told FoodNavigator-USA that such arguments were “disingenuous.” 

“These bills are frankly asinine and have nothing to do with consumer confusion,” Konrad told the publication. “The reason we’re doing so well is precisely because consumers know exactly what they’re buying, they are buying our products because they don’t contain animal products.

“The beef industry and the lobbyists are being highly disingenuous when they talk about consumer confusion. Consumers aren’t confused. This is about trying to hinder what the animal agriculture industry knows is an existential threat [ie. plant-based, cell-cultured meat].”

According to Totally Vegan Buzz, ALDI’s controversial meat-free bacon sells for £2.19 (around $3) and is made up of pea protein.

The vegan-focused publication further reports that the supermarket chain, which has more than 6,000 stores across the globe, offers a wide range of milk and dairy substitutes. Whether those products will spark the same controversy remains to be seen, but because of plant-based products’ popularity, it’s likely that more — not less — vegan and vegetarian products will hit shelves over the next couple of years.

The Plant Based Foods Association reports that plant-based meat sales were $1.4 billion in the U.S. last year.

According to Statista, 6 percent of the U.K.’s population was vegetarian in 2018.

What do you think about this labeling controversy? What should plant-based meat alternatives be called? Let us know — and be sure to pass this on to others.