Tuesday, July 29, 2008

Field Roast is the Real Deal

A new study tested people's perceptions of food based on their value systems - for instance meat-eaters were given vegan sausages and told they were meat and rated them tasting great. When told what they were eating was vegan they said it didn't taste as good even if what they were eating was then animal meat!

Here is their synopsis:
We suggest that consumers assess the taste of a food or beverage by comparing the human values symbolized by the product to their human value priorities. When there is value-symbol congrue
ncy, they experience a better taste and aroma and develop a more favorable attitude and behavior intention; incongruence has theopposite effect. Participants in two taste tests were told the correct identity of aproduct or misinformed. Participants who endorsed the values symbolized by theproduct (that they thought they were tasting) evaluated the product more favorably.

This study has fueled some mighty blogging, such as this link, and this link.

Field Roast would just like to add its opinion!!

First, so many comments assume that all vege sausage is made from soy. While the majority of them are, Field Roast is not!! We are 100% soy free, which, for many is a blessing because so much of vegan food is based around soy, and allergies aside, one knows that eating too much of anything is not good.

Second, why is meat that is not made from animals "fake"?? We understand some companies like to make fake versions of animal meat, but there is something strange about food being fake. Field Roast is REAL food, and we want to change the perception of what meat is. Traditional definitions of the word meat first label it is as solid food. The texture of Field Roast is meaty and satisfying but it is made from grains and not animals. And we don't want to pretend it comes from animals because that is just weird. Our slogan is 'flesh of the earth'.

Anyway, back to the study, it is strange how science needs to prove things that thousands of years of real (not fake!) life can tell us. Food is about involvement and passion and perception. We like to think that food is an experience that brings people together. We are happy to be a product that can satisfy a table full of people who may be vegan, meat-eater, flexitarian, or all. Next time you serve up Field Roast do your own little psychological experiment. Tell the tasters what they are about to eat is real food, from the earth, and there is nothing fake about it. We bet it'll rank high on deliciousness! ;)


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5 Comments:

Blogger Unknown said...

Just picked up a package of the Mexican Chipotle's at Whole Foods. I can't wait to try them. I'm not veggies, but I do love seitan and related products. And I love spicy!

11:11 AM  
Blogger The Chubby Vegetarian said...

Hey. I love your dogs. check out my blog, the chubby vegetarian, to see how i'm using them. I have them sliced on pizza, crumbled in empanadas, and whole on a bum smothered in sauteed vegetables.

-justin
www.thechubbyvegetarian.com

12:31 PM  
Blogger The Chubby Vegetarian said...

.....ahhh. I meant on a bun.

12:32 PM  
Blogger Tracy said...

Aww...shucks. Your products sound wonderful, but unfortunately, I have never seen them here in Nova Scotia, Canada. :0) Maybe someday that will change...

3:19 AM  
Blogger Elaine Vigneault said...

I like how you're careful to add the word "vegan" to the label. If you didn't do that, I'd be annoyed, because then I'd miss out on a great product.

I think you're absolutely right to try to reclaim the word "meat" from the animal industries. It doesn't truly mean dead animal.

However, as a (virtually) life-long vegetarian who doesn't know what dead animal tastes like, I get worried sometimes by this kind of marketing. I feel like using words traditionally used by animal industries tends to appeal more to omnis than to veg*ns. That's not a terrible thing, but as someone who isn't an omni, I feel a bit let out.

If you get more onmis to eat vegan foods, that's great. It's just that I wouldn't want to be "tricked" in the opposite way. I wouldn't want animal sausage makers to start using the term "veg" to describe food that merely contains some vegetables. (In fact, some have begun that already and it drives me nuts. It makes me feel like I can't trust food manufacturer's labels at all.)

All said and done, I think you do a good job with your product because "vegan" is prominent enough on the label to avoid misleading people into thinking it's animal sausage, but "meat" is prominent enough to compel them to buy it. And obviously, the ingredients are listed on the label, too.

Sorry to ramble on. Your product is great. The label is a little confusing. I hope that turns out to be a good thing.

9:42 AM  

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