News

Iowa shoppers side with meat and dairy on labeling

Most Iowa grocery shoppers, in a new survey, don’t think the words “milk” or “meat” should be on labels of imitation products.

The Iowa Farm Bureau Food and Farm Index found more than 80% of Iowa shoppers read labels. Nearly 70% do not want plant and lab-based meat substitutes to be labeled as meat and only 30% would buy imitation meat.

Nearly 60% do not want plant-based milk substitutes, like almond and soy-based drinks, to be labeled as milk and fewer than half would buy dairy substitutes.

Last month, delegates at the Iowa Farm Bureau Federation summer policy conference passed a resolution that the terms meat, milk and eggs should only be used for food that comes from animals.

Five-hundred regular shoppers, between 20 and 60, were surveyed.