Page 10 - National Poultry Newspaper

Cheeky Chooks is an RSPCA game that encourages education about farming egg lay- ing hens.
Cheeky Chooks student game
“It makes more sense from product utilisation and consumer optics and understanding to call it beef with the appropriate quali- fiers and language on the label – contains no animal products, made from plants – so that consumers don’t actually purchase it think- ing it is from a cow.”
“I understand why you ask that question, my snow days in school were spent not sleeping in, they were spent throwing hay out to the cows and horses.”
IT’S time to put your farmer hat on and take care of some cheeky chooks!
of layer hens and high- lights the things they need to have a good life.
They told senators they fully supported the need for clarity in labelling to pre- vent consumer confusion in the marketplace, but also defended the use of identi- fiers such as beef, pork and chicken on the labelling of their plant-based products, saying these are needed to ensure consumers under- stand their product.
“When a consumer sees our Beyond Mince plant- based mince product they know this meat is from plants because of that phrase ‘plant-based’,” Ms O’Connell said.
“Iwillgoasfarasto say that if the outcome of this inquiry is that we are no longer to use meat and dairy terms, together with plant based qualify- ing terms, then it no longer makes sense for Deliciou to produce products in Australia and we will be looking at taking all of our production to overseas mar- kets where meat terms are allowed to be used.” Impossible Foods grilled on mission to end live- stock production
“I understand that this is a personal cultural issue for farmers and our company does not go out of its way to denigrate them necessarily.
Get to know your hens’ cheeky person- alities and make sure they’re always safe and happy.
With 10 million plus hens still confined to battery cages in Aus- tralia, Cheeky Chooks aims to help people form a connection with hens through a fun and interactive resource.
Yet champagne can only come from the Champagne region in France, and many cheese products can only use certain names if they are produced in a specific region.
“We are just putting a product out on the market and letting consumers de- cide.”
Build coops and perches, keep food and water full and add lots of fun things to your farm – keeping these smart and curi- ous birds playing and laying eggs!
One Australian-based manufacture and exporter of plant-based meat substi- tutes told the inquiry his rapidly growing business will have to move off-shore if it is not allowed to use specific meat terms such as ‘chicken’.
Why, Senator Susan Mc- Donald asked, do we have this big push on provenance on some products, and yet on plant-based products we’re saying this is some- how different?
“They know it is intended to function as any other mince, whether it is chick- en, pork or plant-based and so we think this is the most appropriate way to convey this type of information.
Challenged that his state- ment was not consistent with the company’s mis- sion statement to end the production of food from animal derived products, Mr Jameson said he felt the company was being con- sistent.
And now for the bor- ing grown up stuff...
RSPCA Australia has developed materials for a classroom activ- ity that prompts dis- cussion about animals’ needs and what animal welfare is.
Without those terms, plant-based manufacturer representatives said, con- sumers would not under- stand what the plant-based products are going to cook, taste and eat like.
Mr Jameson responded that by geographic indica- tors was a challenging issue and one that many coun- tries and states consider to be ‘protectionist’.
“We’re confident the naming conventions are truthful, they’re not mis- leading or deceptive, and they’re sufficient to convey the true nature of plant- based meat products.” Stronger naming regula- tions would force off- shore move
Impossible Foods was also grilled on its stated mission to end meat pro- duction from animals by 2035, comments which have earned the company considerable media cov- erage and publicity in a crowded and competitive plant-based market space.
“We’re not asking the Australian Senate for any- thing, don’t ask any of our legislatures back in the US for help – we’re just putting a product out on the mar- ket and letting consumers decide.”
Cheeky Chooks is a free educational computer game about farming egg-laying hens – created for eight to 13-year olds – with easy links to the Aus- tralian curriculum.
This activity can be modified for parents or guardians wishing to spark conversations about animal welfare at home and how it re- lates to the food we eat – whether it be at home, at school or when eating out.
Impossible Foods vice president government rela- tions Tyler Jameson said, “We do not see a problem with that, we have chicken nuggets instead of white meat nuggets, because
Representatives of US manufacturers Impossible Foods and Beyond Meats, and Australian companies v2food and Deliciou, each stated they had no inter- est in confusing consumers because their entire value proposition was based on
Deliciou founder Ketjil Hansen – an Australian- based company manufac- turing a range of vegan seasonings and pea, soy and wheat-based meat sub- stitutes and exporting to the US, Europe and Asia – said his company will
Senator Susan McDonald pointed out that in Aus- tralia, livestock production is the largest agricultural industry, a major regional employer and one of the
Each of the plant-protein manufacturers said they have received no credible reports of consumer confu- sion from the labelling of their products and said the Government should not be making decisions based on
The game introduces players to the quirky and inquisitive nature
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Page 10 – National Poultry Newspaper, January 2022
www.poultrynews.com.au
Plant based protein faces meat definition
A SENATE inquiry into consumers understand the the fact their products, be forced to move away country’s largest manufac-
the definitions of meat has been told the plant-based protein sector has the po- tential to quadruple the size of Australia’s annual soybean crop, while one local manufacturer says he is currently “re-im- porting” Australian wheat because of a lack of value- adding capacity locally.
product is going to taste like a chicken nugget, not a beef nugget or a fish nug- get.”
which they call meat, are made from plants.
from Australia if it cannot use meat terms to label its plant-based products.
turing industries.
“Your program would ef-
Manufacturers of plant based ‘fake meats’ ap- peared before a public hear- ing of the Senate Rural and Regional Affairs Inquiry into definitions of meat and other products recently.
Beyond Meats counsel Jessica O’Connell said the company’s position is that using consistent standard- ised food terms that con- sumers understand along with qualifiers such as ‘plant based’ is the very best way to convey to con- sumers what they’re pur- chasing.
“If Deliciou is not allowed use meat and dairy names on our packaging, then it will be impossible for De- liciou to communicate the purpose of our products to consumers and there will be no market for us in Aus- tralia.
Mr Jameson responded by saying he grew up on a farm.
“We have used pork in- stead of white plant-based meat or white meat made from plants because they know they’re going to get the same fat level and chew- iness of a minced pork, as opposed to a minced turkey or a minced chicken.
Claims have been made that plant-based protein companies are deceiving customers, seeking to close down the livestock sector and threatening the fabric of regional Australia.
“If we are not allowed to use the word ‘chicken’ together with the qualifying words ‘plant based’, then it would be impossible for the consumer to know that our plant-based product will taste and feel like chicken.
fectively seek to end the livelihoods of hundreds of thousands of Australian families who work in the livestock production supply chain – what would you say to that?”