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Related: Editorials & Other Articles, Issue Forums, Alliance Forums, Region ForumsAt Taco Bell, It's Not 'Meat,' It's 'Protein'
After all the pink slime and horse meat fiascoes consumers have endured recently, the word meat just isnt working up the appetite like it used to. One euphemism you might see more of at lunchtime: protein.
On July 25, Taco Bell (YUM) will start testing a new Power Protein menu in Ohio aimed at health-conscious consumers. It will include items with more than 20 grams of protein and less than 450 calories per serving, such as a burrito and a bowl, both served with a double portion of chicken or steak. The menu is already being tested under the name Fresco Power in Southern California.
Missy Schaaphok, nutritionist and product manager for Taco Bell, says in an e-mail that the company is using the protein label on its new menu because of the ingredients in the items. The emphasis on nutrition, rather than meatiness, is one consumers are likely to notice. Data from Infegya company that analyzes user-generated content on blogs, social-media accounts, and other online sourcesshows that 43 percent of conversations about meat over the last six months were negative and often included such words as bad, concerns, and problem.
On the other hand, only 6 percent of conversations about protein were negative. Most people associated it with words like good, healthy, and delicious. The result: Some 91 percent of conversations about the Power Protein menu have been positive, according to Infegy.
Taco Bell hopes the menu will appeal to both men and women (unlike the Taco Bell Fresco menu, which has done better with women). Infegy says that so far, more women are talking about Power Protein. The menu is part of Taco Bells recent commitment to making a healthier menu by 2020.
http://www.businessweek.com/articles/2013-06-24/at-taco-bell-protein-is-code-for-meat#r=rss
Nimajneb Nilknarf
(319 posts)There must be communities where other options aren't available.
hobbit709
(41,694 posts)Liberal_in_LA
(44,397 posts)onehandle
(51,122 posts)DetlefK
(16,423 posts)onehandle
(51,122 posts)But it's satisfying to have a 'hunk' of 'meat' now and then.
Veggie burgers, seitan etc. Tofurky makes a bratwurst substitute, 'Beer Brats,' that are fantastic.
DetlefK
(16,423 posts)The taste was okay (it was served with ketchup), but there was no texture or fiber in the sausage meat. The chewing sensation was totally bland, like tofu.
Puzzledtraveller
(5,937 posts)verse what they call meat.
hlthe2b
(102,120 posts)and they lost me as a customer as a result... I occasionally will eat something with their refried beans, but uggh their tacos with that slimy meat substitute is horrendous.
hobbit709
(41,694 posts)Purveyor
(29,876 posts)Buzz Clik
(38,437 posts)Melamine had not food value (was actually toxic) but in a chemical analysis appeared to be protein. Is this kind of shell game Taco Bell is playing -- putting an additive in their "food" that analyzes as protein but has never been associated with a living creature?
Historic NY
(37,449 posts)they're just dying to be eaten.
http://www.nydailynews.com/life-style/eats/new-york-woman-shares-perfect-cicada-pizza-recipe-video-article-1.1359044
bigwillq
(72,790 posts)YUCK
I can't even stand the smell of it.
hunter
(38,302 posts)If Taco Bell had sold beer it would have been the perfect fast food experience.
Once you realize Taco Bell is pretend Mexican food, just as the Weinerschnitzel is pretend German food, it's as deliciously crappy as any other U.S.A. fast food.
What I really miss are the fish & chip places that deep fried everything in animal fat, covered their floors with sawdust, and served your meal wrapped in yesterday's unsold newspapers.
LongTomH
(8,636 posts)There's a great quote from Sir Terry Pratchett that I think is very apropos here:
"There are platonic burgers made of beef instead of cow lips and hooves. There are fish 'n' chips where the fish is more than just a white goo lurking at the bottom of a batter casing and you can't use the chips to shave with. There are hot dog fillings which have more in common with meat than mere pinkness, whose lucky consumers don't apply mustard because that would spoil the taste. It's just that people can be trained to prefer the other sort and seek it out. It's as if Machiavelli had written a cookery book." -- Sir Terry Pratchett The Last Continent