Sheboygan Falls, Wis., and Randers, Denmark, are more than 4,000 miles apart. But while Johnsonville Sausage Co. and Danish Crown are divided by oceans, language and culture, they’re connected by trade: meat processing — also known as the production of food.

And while a marketing campaign Johnsonville kicked off in April had no intended tie to Danish Crown’s simultaneous admission in court to greenwashing, the former’s theme suggests a plausible reset for companies like the latter, which are battered and bruised in trying to sell consumers on sustainability claims.

Packers like Danish Crown, JBS and Tyson have taken costly punches for marketing some products with claims like “climate-controlled” and “low carbon.” Johnsonville’s “Keep It Juicy” campaign, meanwhile, centers on selling sausage as a means of bringing people together to eat and be merry. Central to that campaign was a Harris Poll of more than 2,000 U.S. residents indicating Americans are tiring of the nation’s political angst and looking to reconnect with friends and family.

It’s a telling juxtaposition: If the industry can’t sell consumers on meat production as being good for the environment, sell them on what it is indisputably good for: providing people with nourishment, not only for the body but also for the soul.

Meat companies can’t be blamed for trying to sell on sustainability. They must cover the costs of improving their environmental footprints. They’re undertaking major projects at least to satisfy the BlackRocks of the world, even if they’re not totally sold on the benefits themselves. They’re also being told constantly that consumers weigh sustainability when purchasing meat, and that they will pay the associated premiums.

But they’ve stepped into a trick bag. Researchers have long recognized the disconnect between what consumers say they would pay for and what they ultimately pay for. Add to that the yet-to-be fully-developed science of proving claims like carbon emissions reduction. And then there are the many activist groups suing over any association the meat industry tries to claim with being “sustainable.”

Danish Crown had been sued by Climate Movement in Denmark and the Danish Vegetarian Association. In a statement, the company said it is still important to be able to communicate its climate actions, but that the court process “led to both healthy reflections and a useful debate about the boundaries” of such communication.

“Healthy reflections.” That’s an apt phrase. Let’s reflect: The industry must assess its products’ best attributes and sell those. And, as it turns out, “healthy” is one of those key attributes. It’s a big one, in fact. The industry would be better served by explaining that to the consumer in its marketing.

Yes, people need to eat, a fact and luxury for food makers and sellers. But consumers could use a refresher: Why do they need to eat meat? What of its contents make it critical to human function? Why must it be at the center of plates on the tables around which the human race comes together?

Johnsonville’s lighthearted “Keep It Juicy” campaign might not answer every one of those questions in detail. But, far more than sustainability claims do, the ad gets closer to the heart of meat’s biggest selling point: sustenance.

Editor's note: The is article ran as the Editorial in the May print issue of Meatingplace.

Meat: What is it good for?

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