Greenwashing is a problem. Here’s how to spot it at the supermarket.
Plant-based protein alternatives are hitting store shelves and restaurant menus at a rapid pace. More than ever, consumers seek ways to make planet-friendly choices with their eating habits - a market opportunity for plant-based protein companies. Many new alternative protein products are marketed and branded as the best way for consumers to reduce their climate footprints, but is this the truth, or just clever marketing?
“Greenwashing” is a term used to describe a marketing tactic where companies use language or packaging to make people believe its product is good for the environment. Consumers are catching on to greenwashing and starting to be more skeptical as they stroll through the supermarket, especially when it comes to new plant-based food products.
Food companies want to sell their products and including on-trend buzzwords is one of the biggest ways that they try to achieve that goal. A number of new plant-based protein companies have included buzzwords like simple, truth, earth, and green in their brand names. Many of these terms are not officially defined by our food safety agencies, the FDA and USDA. The labeling term natural, for example, has not been defined by the FDA while the USDA has provided only loose guidance on which meat products can be labeled as natural. Despite the lack of labeling uniformity, many consumers see the word natural and assume the product is better for their health and the environment.
Marketing is more than just picking a clever product name and the right labels. Companies are increasingly using messaging to persuade consumers, especially when it comes to shoppers who want to have a better environmental footprint. Many of the plant-based product makers include messaging that suggests eating less meat is better for the environment, that a diet focusing mostly on plants is healthier for you or suggesting that the product contains equal to or more protein than animal protein. Usually some anti-meat or pro-plant wording lingers either in the name of the product or somewhere on the front of the package. Beyond Meat and Impossible Foods are perfect examples.
And when it comes to the visual aspect of branding, many of these products have trendy logos featuring earth tones like green, brown, and white and often use cardboard or paper instead of plastic.
If the branding and packaging have some elements of greenwashing but you still aren’t sure, the nutrition facts panel is a great way to figure out if the claims live up to the food inside the package. Many of the new plant-based products are primarily based on soy, canola, and pea protein, which you will see listed in the first few ingredients. In most cases, the food companies use GMO soy or canola, which almost certainly means that chemical inputs like pesticides and herbicides were used to produce the crop.
In 2017 alone, 84 million pounds of glyphosate was used to grow GMO soy in the US. Glyphosate has been classified as a “probable carcinogen” by the World Health Organization. Bayer, which recently purchased the company that manufactured glyphosate, Monsanto, has been battling several lawsuits accusing the company of misleading consumers about glyphosate’s carcinogenic properties despite knowing of the danger for several decades. One of the lawsuits recently resulted in a $2 billion verdict and thousands more are waiting in the pipeline.
Among herbicides, two different forms of glyphosate were the most widely applied active ingredients. They were also the top herbicides in a similar survey in 2015. Source
Most plant-based protein products also include a long list of other ingredients that are used to preserve, stabilize, thicken, or add texture and color. Beyond Meat has 18 ingredients while Impossible Foods has 21, for example. Many of these food additives are artificial and some are even petroleum-based. As consumers continue to search for food products that are based on whole foods, they must consult lists of food additives to avoid and learn about the side effects that they often cause. These fake alternatives make no sense.
A number of consumer interest groups are working to combat greenwashing. The Environmental Working Group (EWG), for example, has reviewed and ranked over 80,000 food products to help consumers cut through some of the greenwashing noise taking over the supermarket. It assesses safety, nutrition, and environmental impact on a scale of one to 10. The lower the number, the better the product is overall. EWG ranked Beyond Burger patties as a 5 and Concord Farms lean ground beef as a 1.5.
As an alternative to greenwashed, ultra-processed, plant-based proteins, environmentally conscious consumers can look for AWA (Animal Welfare Approved) and the AGA ( American Grassfed Association) certified labeling on animal products. Farmers markets and EatWild.com are excellent, well-vetted resources to seek out local farmers growing pasture-raised proteins. The upcoming documentary and book, Sacred Cow, makes the environmental, nutritional, and ethical case for better meat and explores how livestock are not only a critical tool for combating climate change but also a vital part of our food system.
Roxanne Ahern is a writer, regenerative homesteader, certified permaculture designer, and holistic nutritionist. She’s a contributor to the forthcoming documentary and book project “Sacred Cow: The environmental, nutritional, and ethical case for better meat” and raises katahdin sheep, Nigerian dwarf goats, fruit, and vegetables on a 44 acre homestead in the Southeast with her family. Find her at www.happyholistichomestead.com and follow her on Instagram @happyholistichomestead.
