Marketing, Ethics, Nutrition Experts Weigh in on New Rollout
04/11/2019
Contact: Nancy Cicco, 978-934-4944 or Nancy_Cicco@uml.edu and Christine Gillette, 978-934-2209 or Christine_Gillette@uml.edu
Burger King’s announcement that the chain is rolling out the new “Impossible Whopper” sets the table for a debate over “meatless meat.”
UMass Lowell experts in marketing, nutrition and ethics are available to weigh in on a range of issues surrounding the plan, from the burgers’ target market and whether the meat alternative is nutritionally sound and actually vegetarian, to how the patties are made and their environmental and health impact.
A self-professed fan of beef, Spencer Ross is an expert on marketing, branding and consumer engagement. Ross says these meatless meats taste like “the real deal” but that vegans and vegetarians are not the products’ target market.
“The market these products are focused on is millennials – the meat-eaters who are sustainability-minded and rationally concerned about the impact of their meat consumption on the environment, but irrationally won’t give up meat,” he said.
But despite being satisfied with the marketing strategy, Ross, and other UMass Lowell experts, have some heartburn about the process behind creating the “meat.” Impossible Foods acknowledges its patties’ meat-like taste is derived from taking DNA from soy plants and inserting it into genetically altered yeast. Still other “meatless” alternatives – so-called “lab-based meat” made by other suppliers – are produced by cultivating animal cells in petri dishes, muddying the marketplace and potentially confusing consumers, according to Ross.
“This ‘meat’ made in labs is still animal-derived and likely won’t placate vegans,” said Ross, who is researching whether and how these types of innovations should be regulated.
While acknowledging the benefits of plant-based diets, Kelsey Mangano, a registered dietitian and assistant professor who directs UMass Lowell’s Nutrition Program, also raised some red flags. In general, Mangano noted most people can do well by swapping out some meat in favor of healthy plant-based alternatives.
“The key here is to make sure the alternative is made of a high-quality protein with little to no additional additives, such as sodium or preservatives that may be bad for health,” she said. She also has reservations about genetically modified soy protein. “More research across all populations is needed to determine its safety.”
Nicholas Evans, a UMass Lowell philosophy professor who studies ethical dilemmas posed by emerging technologies, shared similar concerns.
“My questions are: What is the USDA oversight over the burgers and are there proposed measures to look at the long-term health impacts of eating them, what is their overall environmental impact?” Evans said, adding that consumers will need to weigh how this impact compares with sensible methods of raising livestock for meat.
To arrange in-person or telephone interviews with any of these UMass Lowell experts or others, please contact Nancy Cicco at Nancy_Cicco@uml.edu, 978-934-4944 or Christine Gillette at Christine_Gillette@uml.edu, 978-934-2209.