A roundup of online news, blogs and social media posts of relevance to beef from around the web in recent weeks

Brexit

Steaks are high in the beef over post-Brexit meat – Having formally left the European Union on January 31, Britain is now free to pursue its own trade deals around the world, with Canberra close to the top of the list. An impending clash boils down to two questions: whether quotas and tariffs should still be used to limit the amount of Australian beef and sheep meat coming into Britain, and whether hormone-produced beef should be allowed in at all.

UK farming organisations and trade bodies have written to Prime Minister Boris Johnson calling for a firm stance on welfare and environmental standards in any trade deals that are negotiated after the UK leaves the EU – Brexit and the meat industry: What happens now?  

In the wake of Brexit it is time for Australian farmers to demand “Equivalent” Trade Deals – Josie Angus from Signature Beef makes the case on Facebook:

Meat wars

The chancellor of the Texas A&M University has taken the extraordinary step of sending a public letter of complaint to Harvard University’s president accusing several Harvard public health researchers of trying to strong-arm another journal into pulling papers questioning longstanding guidance on beef consumption. (See earlier Beef Central article here)

Rugby beef

Scotland’s next generation of rugby talent has swapped the pitch for the kitchen to attend a series of workshops all about the benefits of red meat. 

Meat substitutes

Faux meat manufacturer Beyond Meat suffered a setback in January as Canada’s largest quick service restaurant chain Tim Hortons pulled the company’s imitation meat products from its menus six months after they were introduced, news which contributed to a 3.9pc drop in Beyond meat’s share price. Investor site Motley Fool has identified four challenges that it believes could further hurt Beyond Meat Stock.

Is Beyond Meat a game changing trend or just a fad? Years of data show taste, cost and nutrition always prevail with consumers. Looks like they won out @TimHortons https://t.co/L1IuvfNdO4

— Jeff Simmons (@JeffSimmons2050) January 31, 2020

Burger King in the US has cut the price of its faux-meat burger, the Impossible Whopper, as sales start to dip following last year’s introduction, Bloomberg reports – Burger King Cuts Impossible Whopper Price on Slowing Sales

US fast food chains Carl’s Jr and Hardee’s, which recently partnered with Beyond Meat to offer all-day plant-based options for breakfast, lunch and dinner some chains, are giving way free Beyond Meat menu items on post-Superbowl Monday to encourage consumers to give it a try.

Meanwhile an Oxford University professor has created a patch infused with bacon to ‘help vegans cope with meat cravings’

In this short video interview Professor David Hughes talks demand for plant-based foods with CTV news in Calgary, Canada, outlining key drivers, along with his view that great opportunities for meat remain, but markets are shifting. Watch video here

Meanwhile Four in 10 Americans have eaten plant-based alternatives to meat according to a Gallup News poll, and six in 10 who have personally tried plant-based meats say they are “very” (27pc) or “somewhat likely” (33pc) to continue eating them. The favourable media attention given to plant burgers has not convinced everyone to change their diets however, with another Gallup poll  showing 72pc of people in the US are eating the same amount of meat as a year ago, with around 23pc saying they are eating less meat.

Sustainability

The European Parliament will vote on Wednesday on whether to introduce a meat levy. Dubbed the “sustainability charge” the tax aims to reflect the environmental impact of producing meat on a large scale.

Interested how NZ dealt with GHGs? They treat fossil fuel emissions (i.e. CO2) separately from biogenic sources & sinks (methane). Goal: zero CO2 emissions and reductions of methane combined with policies to achieve water, soil and biodiversity objectives. https://t.co/4N8pL4FF0Q

— Frank Mitloehner (@GHGGuru) February 2, 2020

Thread: Why are most carbon footprint estimates for livestock products so massive? In short: because they are based on a faulty methane calculation. EAT Lancet, Starbucks, Impossible Burger etc are drastically overestimating GHG from livestock and here is why. /1 pic.twitter.com/JeuSikb1vi

— Frank Mitloehner (@GHGGuru) February 1, 2020

Welcome rain

What a difference cyclone Blake has made, 200mm rain. Destocked , zero cattle feed 4 weeks ago. pic.twitter.com/8Kl02uinNW

— Haydn (@HaydnSale) February 1, 2020