WIRED: The UK's seriously considering renaming the veggie burger

Press/Media: Expert comment

Description

But animal-free substitutes aren’t exactly the modern phenomenon that they’re sometimes presented as, says Malte Rödl, a researcher into meat analogues at the University of Manchester. Meat replacements go way back to the Victorian era, he says. “The veggie and nut roast came from the idea of wanting to replace meat, but still having something familiar,” he says. Banning meaty names could end up creating more confusion than change, says Rödl. “Meat alternatives have been so popular because they have the same shape [as meat] and define what you can do with it, how you cook it.” Rödl’s research focuses on the social and cultural context of meat-eating and how food manufacturers are using this to advertise their meat-free products. “Lots of adverts [revolve] around Christmas and barbecues and they very much reinforce the idea that meat is normal and a legitimate thing to eat on those occasions because that’s what you’ve always done,” he says.

The EU ban would remove these immediate associations, he says, adding that because consumers know what to expect from meat it creates a sense of familiarity when they are looking to transition into a flexitarian, vegetarian, or vegan diet. In other words, it’s obvious that a veggie burger should be slapped in a bun and slathered in cheese, but a veggie disc might leave people a little more perplexed.

“When you think of a sausage you automatically think of other foods that come with it like chips or beans, or if you think of a burger you think about putting it on a bun and enjoying a barbecue,” says Quorn’s Bryant. He does not think a ban would bring positive change in the UK, but rather complicate the food manufacturing business, add unnecessary costs and could confuse consumers even more. “You would probably stop some consumers from making that conscious choice to switch to plant-based diets because they just don’t know what’s going on, whereas at the moment they are not confused,” he says.

Period20 Jun 2019

Media coverage

1

Media coverage

  • TitleThe UK's seriously considering renaming the veggie burger
    Media name/outletWired
    Media typeWeb
    Country/TerritoryUnited Kingdom
    Date20/06/19
    DescriptionBut animal-free substitutes aren’t exactly the modern phenomenon that they’re sometimes presented as, says Malte Rödl, a researcher into meat analogues at the University of Manchester. Meat replacements go way back to the Victorian era, he says. “The veggie and nut roast came from the idea of wanting to replace meat, but still having something familiar,” he says. Banning meaty names could end up creating more confusion than change, says Rödl. “Meat alternatives have been so popular because they have the same shape [as meat] and define what you can do with it, how you cook it.” Rödl’s research focuses on the social and cultural context of meat-eating and how food manufacturers are using this to advertise their meat-free products. “Lots of adverts [revolve] around Christmas and barbecues and they very much reinforce the idea that meat is normal and a legitimate thing to eat on those occasions because that’s what you’ve always done,” he says.

    The EU ban would remove these immediate associations, he says, adding that because consumers know what to expect from meat it creates a sense of familiarity when they are looking to transition into a flexitarian, vegetarian, or vegan diet. In other words, it’s obvious that a veggie burger should be slapped in a bun and slathered in cheese, but a veggie disc might leave people a little more perplexed.

    “When you think of a sausage you automatically think of other foods that come with it like chips or beans, or if you think of a burger you think about putting it on a bun and enjoying a barbecue,” says Quorn’s Bryant. He does not think a ban would bring positive change in the UK, but rather complicate the food manufacturing business, add unnecessary costs and could confuse consumers even more. “You would probably stop some consumers from making that conscious choice to switch to plant-based diets because they just don’t know what’s going on, whereas at the moment they are not confused,” he says.
    URLhttps://www.wired.co.uk/article/vegetarian-vegan-burger-name-change-eu
    PersonsMalte Rodl

Research Beacons, Institutes and Platforms

  • Energy

Keywords

  • meat alternatives
  • burgers
  • climate change
  • food