#supermarket

iVegan is Taiwan’s first all vegan supermarket. Photo: Vegan Taiwan

iVegan, Taiwan’s first all vegan supermarket! iVegan opened in Taipei this August.  According to Vegan Taiwan, the supermarket is complete with “fresh fruit and veggies, packaged goods, frozen foods, fresh baking, cleaning and body care products* and even housewares.” iVegan comes complete with an organicsection and a small…

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As the debate of meat eating versus vegan diets continues to resonate online and across the supermarket isles, I was surprised to read what can be regarded as something of a rare happening with Tyson Foods investing in non-meat produce crafted by a vegan start up.

Has hell frozen over? Not exactly even if major changes do happen across the industrial realm where some companies manage to understand what’s the future like. By saying this I’m not making a prediction that in near future we will stop eating meat all together; however, winds are blowing towards a direction that sees valid alternatives to traditionalism in food.

I’d like to point out first one issue that is often ignored when we debate meat and how it’s delivered on out tables. When speaking of animal farming we are all aware of the poor conditions some pastures are placed in order to maximize profitability. Endless quantities of meat constantly appear across thousand of supermarkets of all size in our country, creating a market behavior that does not directly reflect the consumer demand, but it’s the correlation between animal farmers and distributors (aka supermarkets) where the game is played.

We can asses that by analyzing the large amount of beef, pork, chicken, along with the relative byproducts, which are thrown into the garbage every week by grocery stores because it becomes unsold and close to expiry date. So, in essence blaming families as the main cause of animal conditions is not fair, but it’s the display of abundance distributors (aka supermarkets) perpetrate which drive the production demand high with the waste.

Tyson Foods is one of the largest North American dealer in terms of animal products from big restaurant chains to the frozen food section where many shop. The scale of manufacturing and client sale is very big and very lucrative, with a noticeable impact that comes with influential behavior since millions of people eat these products.

Beyond Meat, the vegan startup, has been producing valuable alternatives to burger patties that aesthetically look like any ground beef you could use to slap on your BBQ grill, and allegedly critics who have tasted it can confirm the similarity with the original animal product. Packages are already available across different grocery stores in the US and are planned to expand beyond the border. It’s essential to monitor if this deal continues and how this protein alternative can influence the markets and competitors.

This shift in behavior is nonetheless very interesting because it places a name like Tyson, often denounced for cruelty against its chicken and cows, changing the tune of their score and able to understand the trends happening out there not only on the internet but among communities.

Tyson knows that meat prices will continue to go up and its product consumption risks to go down; a major shift in dietary habits among the population translates in billions in losses. In the last twenty years we have seen all sorts of boycotting against fast-food meals and processed food, fields in which Tyson is fully responsible and well placed among.

In order to begin a portfolio diversification to develop with solid grounds, Tyson is making the smart move not to continue placing all its eggs in one basket. Investing in future trends proves to be a test against core industrial values that defy the traditionalism of certain markets. This also plays well on Tyson’s PR strategy so it can wield the ‘environmentally friendly’ card to the media, and who knows, perhaps a change in their marrow philosophy.

Is it just me or is ground beef the rarest commodity in the entire Middle Kingdom?

When needed I can easily source beef of various forms from any of the large and well stocked Chinese supermarkets surrounding my apartment. I can have it in shanks, steaks, cubes or jelly. I can have the feet, the ears – hell, I could probably have the tail.

But for the love of God why is mince such a rare thing?

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warning: rant

I’m hearing a lot about sustainability and going green and supporting local, but most of the information is USA/large agricultural country centric. as a very average singaporean i, i can’t think of any ways to do that

in terms of food…

99% of all our food is imported because the land area is too small to sustain an effective % of the population. local produce is simply too expensive to completely switch over unless the family earns a lot how do we reduce our carbon footprint like this?

recycling…

there are many blue bins for recycling but irresponsible people are always throwing their food waste and rubbish inside and it results in the entire bin being thrown away so it’s a waste of water and time. especially in residential areas.

i feel schools should do more for paper recycling since they’re probably the largest users of paper and not able to be fully digital yet. they could encourage recycling amongst students like P2/P4/P6/Sec 2/Sec 4/JC 2 after EOY/National Exams because honestly they don’t really need their materials anymore as they move up to the next year. I’m sure the mountains of used assessment books and worksheets could be diverted from the incinerator while textbooks in good condition should be passed down to those who can’t keep affording brand new ones. I understand that NTUC has a textbook initiative but hardly anyone would take serious note unless they were already interested. by converting this programme to the individual school level, it would be easier for students to hear about and take part in since the entire programme is within school premises anyways. if manpower is needed to sort/promote/quality check, an additional VIA project wouldn’t hurt interested students/student leaders anyway

plastic-free shopping…

our rubbish disposal system requires all rubbish to be neatly tied up in plastic bags. we NEED plastic bags to make the rubbish disposal process easier. wet food items like meat need to be kept fresh with plastic bags. wet market and hawker centre shop owners rarely stop for us to switch to reusable containers when there’s business. in supermarkets, fresh produce that doesn’t actually require bagging is still put in bags to buy as a bunch (e.g cabbage, apples, bananas). nowadays supermarkets make their plastic bags super thin to ‘reduce’ plastic waste but it means that the bags can serve their purpose at the bare minimum. it breaks so easily its ridiculous. that also means that cashiers double or triple bag, which defeats the original purpose anyways. requiring customers to pay for plastic bags hinders no one but lower income households, who aren’t the main problem anyway.

Looks can be deceiving. This canine cutie may look innocent and adorable, but what happened in Murray, Utah will make you look at it differently.

A store in Murray was victimized by this dog. He had his target locked, and got what he desired. This husky did not mind what the rules are, and decided to run away with his Christmas bone.

Watch this video for proof:

The stolen good was valued just at $2.49, but it is quite incredible for someone whom you don’t expect to pull this kind of stunt off.