I eat meat, and I like it. I fire up the grill and make steaks, burgers, barbecue chicken, hot dogs and sausage. But I also love my meatless days when I whip up falafel, curry, rice and beans, and gigantic salads. And you know what? My kids and husband love it all (so does my dog — the cat is a snob). I never really felt the need to put myself into any kind of category in terms of the food I eat. But these days, it seems like everyone needs to take a side.

You might know that I head up territory sales at Urner Barry, where our main focus is animal-protein buyers and sellers. What you may not know is that I am also part of a research team at Urner Barry that focuses on uncovering pricing and trends in the plant-protein industry. In each of these roles, I work to make connections on LinkedIn so that I can network with and learn from professionals who know more than me. The main thing that I have learned is that these crowds can be like oil and water. But why?

Plant and alternative proteins have become such polarizing topics. It seems that, like we see happening with politics, there are hardcore extremists on both sides of the fence. And as with other divisive dialogue, those who scream the loudest get the most attention. So those who shout from the mountain tops that plant-based food is fad and will go away tend to be how people perceive the meat industry. And those who get on a soap box and exclaim that meat eaters are murderers set the tone for that side. But there are a lot of companies successfully straddling the fence, and they are doing it without an unnecessary increase in decibels. Think JBS, Cargill, Perdue, Tyson, Burger King — heavy hitters who know how to innovate and do so profitably.

Here’s the thing: Most people are always going to eat some kind of animal protein. Veggie burgers and substitutes have been around for a long time, and most people who buy them also eat meat. I love veggie burgers; I also love beef burgers, turkey burgers, you name it, I like it. I’ve tried the meat-like patties, blended nuggets, vegan cheese — and why wouldn’t I? I am an omnivore and I like food.

The traditional meat industry has thrived through innovation over the years, and the outcomes have been nothing short of amazing. Packers and processors have come up with incredible ways to produce record volumes with unparalleled efficiency. They have made advancements to improve worker safety and reduce injuries, water usage and carbon output; heck, they’ve even overcome a pandemic.

Alternative proteins are just catching up with some improvements of their own. They have scaled production, created new, better-tasting, varying products, and met the ever-changing demands of the consumer who wants to eat differently. But the fact is, there would be no market for these changes if the consumer didn’t buy it — if people like me didn’t want to try new things. This industry is growing in proportion with demand, as does any other.

Folks who produce all kinds of protein are playing the same game: feeding the world. People are hungry. I am hungry (is it lunch time yet?). The protein space has been a playground for brilliant minds to find solutions for hungry people like me forever. Nothing about that needs to or should change. So what am I trying to say? Well, it’s simple. I think I speak for all omnivores when I say, I don’t want to pick a side. Keep feeding me.

Feed me!

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