A new article published in Personality and Individual Differences explores the “meat paradox”—the phenomenon that people with higher levels of empathy for animals do not necessarily reduce their meat consumption—and proposes moral disengagement as a possible explanation.
Psychological Research into the “Meat Paradox”
Consumers Willing to Pay More for High Animal Welfare Labeling
A study conducted by researchers in Sweden reports to have found that consumers are willing to pay a premium price for meat products that include a label assuring the highest available standards of animal welfare and healthfulness. The published paper is not yet available.
Texas Considers Bill to Restrict Labeling and Advertisement of the Term “Meat”
Texas Senate Bill 2035 proposes to restrict the use of the terms meat, beef, chicken, and pork on advertising and labeling of food products to food products made out of a “formerly live” animal. The bill would also ban advertisements and labeling of “imitation” meat products that include comparisons of the product’s nutritional value to slaughtered animal products.
New Book Grapples with the Sustainability of Meat Production
A new book, Green Meat?: Sustaining Eaters, Animals, and the Planet, examines the complexity of the relationship between raising animals for food and sustainability by considering the issue from interdisciplinary lenses.
Virginia Governor Vetoes Bill Limiting Definition of “Milk”
Virginia Governor Ralph Northam vetoed a bill passed by both the House and Senate that would have prohibited foods to be labeled as “milk” unless that product was “obtained by the complete milking of a healthy hooved mammal.”
Soy Protein as Scaffolding for Cultivated Agricultural Products
An article published in Nature Food explores the possibility of using a soy-based product as scaffolding in cultivated meat products.
PETA and Beyond Meat Sued for Violations of Telephone Consumer Protection Act
A proposed class action in California alleges that People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals and Beyond Meat violated the Telephone Consumer Protection Act by sending text messages that promoted the availability of the plant-based products using an automated system.
Beyond Meat Faces Another Investor Lawsuit
Investors in the plant-based protein company have filed suit against several of the company’s executives, claiming that they downplayed the company’s potential liability in a legal dispute with one of the company’s former suppliers, Don Lee Farms. Don Lee sued Beyond Meat in 2017, claiming that the plant-based company breached its contract and stole trade secrets. Two years later, Don Lee added claims that the company had altered a food safety consultant’s report and provided contaminated ingredients. Following the launch of Beyond Meat’s IPO, the investor suit claims, the company made misleading statements regarding its liability to Don Lee and the potential impact of Don Lee’s lawsuit in filings with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. This is at least the third such suit filed against the company this year.
Incentives and Disincentives to Decrease Meat Consumption
An article in the journal Appetite explores Australian consumer attitudes and goals regarding meat consumption.
Beyond Meat Investor Sues Company Over Stock Drop
An investor in the plant-based company Beyond Meat has sued the company in a putative securities class action, alleging that the company and top executives made false statements regarding the company’s relationship with supplier Don Lee Farms.