Survey finds confusion on plant-based meat products

In an online survey of more than 1,800 consumers, less than half of the respondents understood that the labeling term “plant-based beef” was intended to describe an entirely vegetarian or vegan food product, according to new research released by the National Cattlemen’s Beef Assn. (NCBA). The survey results show widespread consumer confusion regarding the ingredient composition and purported benefits of plant-based fake meat products.

One major source of confusion uncovered by NCBA’s research is that approximately one-third of surveyed consumers believed that plant-based fake meat products contained at least some real beef. When asked to evaluate specific product labels and marketing materials from some of the leading plant-based fake beef products currently on the market, nearly two-thirds of respondents believed the fake meat products produced by Beyond Meat, Impossible Foods and LightLife contained real beef or some form of animal byproduct.

In addition, 32% of consumers who were shown a package of Beyond Meat’s Beyond Burger plant-based patties (which features...