The Big Beef With the Meat Industry’s Advertising Tactics
It feels like every day, the news cycle is saturated with story after story of meat industry closures. Industry giants Tyson Foods, JBS, Cargill, and Smithfield Foods have all taken major hits. And then there is the constant onslaught of headlines warning us that nationwide meat shortages are just around the corner. Even Wendy’s is going through a meat shortage. But the U.S. government isn’t going to stand idly by.
President Trump invoked a Korean War-era act to keep meatpacking plants open despite the high rates of infection (and this is after approving a $16 billion bailout for the heavily subsidized meat and dairy industries). Union leaders have already pointed out that the government appears to be prioritizing meat production over worker safety — and I’m not disagreeing with that.
The scramble to pull the multi-billion dollar meat industry out of its coronavirus-induced tailspin won’t end here. If you ask me, we should also be bracing ourselves for a new wave of meat industry propaganda. Believe me — it’s going to happen.
The meat industry already has a history of fluffing itself using federal dollars. The Beef Industry Council launched the campaign “Beef. It’s What’s for Dinner” nearly two decades ago. It has consistently run campaigns since then, like 2008’s “Powerful Beefscapes” campaign, which puzzlingly featured close-up shots of meat in landscapes like mountains, rocks, and trees. It should be obvious that they sought to align “beef” with “natural”
This, and the “Nicely Done Beef” campaign are both paid for by the Beef Checkoff Program. They’re two of several government-subsidized programs promoting the “wholesome” nature of animal products — and you probably know about them. Other campaigns include “Got Milk?,” “Milk Does a Body Good,” “The Incredible Edible Egg,” and “Pork. The Other White Meat.”
In the digital media age, you can, of course, visit the website for recipes, nutrition tips (including material promoting beef — which is known to raise the risk of heart disease — as being able to “help lower cholesterol as part of a healthy diet and lifestyle”). There’s even a section where you can learn about how ranchers care for their cattle (conveniently leaving out the slaughterhouse photos) while promoting farmers as vanguards of the environment. It’s no wonder that studies show that many people are unaware of meat’s effects on the planet when beef always has Big Government’s money in its back pocket.
Last month, beef industry professionals announced that it is keeping a close eye on how consumers are responding to the pandemic. In other words, they’re watching and waiting to see how best to repackage beef to convince people that they need to buy burgers, ground beef, steak, and the works.
This is already underway. Starting on Memorial Day, the new “United We Steak” campaign will kick off. National and state checkoff programs are moving advertising dollars into getting customers to crave beef on social media. There’s also a little reminder that Chuck Knows Beef, a digital assistant, is there to address all of their burning questions at literally any time of day.
The meat industry is smart — they’re leveraging an army of “food influencers” to spark that FOMO of not eating beef in consumers. A recent roundup on a popular recipe blog promised 12 unique ways to cook ground beef. At the very top, the author discloses that the post is sponsored by the New York Beef Council, which is maintained by the Beef Checkoff Program. And so we’ve come full circle.
Their recipes are being shared by major news outlets and influential chefs. It’s a major call-to-action for the consumer to take pride in buying American beef.
Plant-based meat sales are up as people across the country buy in bulk, unable to anticipate if their favorite products will be available the next time they step into the supermarket. While this is a victory, now is not the time to get complacent — the plant-based food industry needs to prepare itself for the meat industry’s strike.
We can celebrate that plant-based food sales are higher than ever, yes. That’s no small victory. But it would be ignorant of us to assume that Big Beef isn’t going down without a fight.
Last month, top news outlets reported on a study that supposedly revealed vegans and vegetarians are more likely to be depressed, PAID FOR BY THE BEEF CHECKOFF PROGRAM. In addition to that, the Center for Consumer Freedom, which lobbies on the behalf of fast food, meat, alcohol, and tobacco, recently launched the site “Clean Food Facts” to spread fear-mongering around “fake meat” ingredients. The first thing you see on the landing page asks if “ultra-processed fake meat” needs a warning label. Right below it? A post on the “most concerning ingredients in these heavily processed foods.”
The meat industry is tactical, and we need to be, too.
Are you ready for it?