what does plant-based mean, anyway? more than half of us aren't so sure

from oat milk to cashew cheese, and seitan sausages to pea-protein burgers, plant-based products are big business. in the u.s. alone, the number of offerings labelled as such surged 268 per cent between 2012 and 2018, according to mintel research. but what does “plant-based” mean, exactly? a new study from thenational cattlemen’s beef association suggests that less than half of us could answer that question correctly.the survey of more than 1,800 participants ranging from 18 to 65 years old showed that 45 per cent understood “plant-based beef” to be a “completely vegan,” animal-free product, as food dive reports. thirty-one per cent thought it could contain animal byproducts, but not meat, while 17 per cent believed it could “contain small amounts of meat, but is primarily plant-based.” seven per cent assumed the term implied a beefy free-for-all with no restrictions on meat content whatsoever.the findings are in line with an annual survey released by the international food information council last spring, which revealed that while “plant-based” may seem self-explanatory, it means vastly different things to different people. roughly one-third of respondents equated a plant-based diet with a vegan one, and a similar percentage defined it “as a diet that emphasizes minimally processed foods that come from plants, with limited consumption of animal meat, eggs and dairy.”when asked what was “most confusing” about various plant-based product labels and advertisements in the recent beef association study, responses ranged from bafflement at descriptors — “marbled juiciness doesn’t make sense to me,” one participant said about the beyond burger — to taking issue with its very existence — “it’s called a burger, looks like a burger, but is not meat.”in terms of its impact on health and the environment, respondents believed plant-based meat to be a better choice than beef: 52 per cent thought it was more sustainable, 51 per cent saw it as a “healthy” choice, 44 per cent considered it to be lower in sodium, and 39 per cent deemed it “natural.” but beef won out on perceptions of budget (46 per cent), protein content (43 per cent) and having fewer ingredients (42 per cent).despite further evidence of the fuzziness of plant-based terminology, any uncertainty doesn’t seem to have had a negative impact on its popularity or perceived benefits. and although plant-based eating may be one of today’s top food and beverage trends, the term itself dates back decades.thomas colin campbell, a nutritional biochemist who is credited with coining it in the early 1980s, told the new york times that he arrived at the phrase in order to impress that his work was “coming totally from science and not any sort of ethical or philosophical consideration.” for his part, campbell has since moved towards promoting a “whole food plant-based diet” instead, which differentiates between the nutritional value of unadulterated plants, and processed foods like chick’n nuggets and high-tech veggie burgers.while many use plant-based and vegan interchangeably, the former’s haziness is central to its appeal. where vegan is specific, plant-based is broad — providing a soft-edged alternative to hard lines. for the 6.5 million canadians — that’s nearly 20 per cent of the population (compared to roughly 470,000 vegans) — who are rethinking but not eliminating meat, taking a vague approach to dietary labels has its advantages. opting for openness over restriction is attractive when it means you can have your meat-free burger on monday and a rotisserie chicken on tuesday.the nebulous nature of “plant-based” appears to be bolstering, rather than hindering, its success. it’s well understood that the major players in the current meatless movement are targeting omnivores, not vegetarians and vegans, with their products. as an extension, being presented with an increasing number of “plant-based” foods that don’t force a lifestyle change looks like an option, not an edict.