‘Plant Butter’ is a scam!
this post was created with help from generative ai
If you’re like me, you care about what you put on your toast, in your baking, and in your frying pan. You want a product that is delicious, healthy, and ethical. You might think that plant butter is the perfect choice for you, but I’m here to tell you that it’s not.
Plant butter is a term that some companies use to market their vegan butter substitutes. They claim that their products are made from natural plant oils and are better for you and the environment than regular butter. But there’s a catch: plant butter is not really butter at all.
According to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), butter is defined as “the food product usually known as butter… and containing not less than 80 per centum by weight of milk fat”.1
Plant butter, on the other hand, does not meet this definition. It contains strictly less than 80 percent fat by weight. That means the products are not required to be labeled as margarine, which is defined as “the food… containing not less than 80 percent fat”.2
Why does this matter? Because fat is what gives butter its flavor, texture, and cooking properties. Butter has a rich and creamy taste that enhances any dish. It also has a high smoke point, which means it can withstand high temperatures without burning or breaking down. Butter also creates flaky pastries, moist cakes, and tender cookies.
Plant butter, on the other hand, has a bland and watery taste that does not compare to real butter. It cannot compare due to its inferior fat content.
So why do companies use the term plant butter instead of margarine? Because they know that margarine has a bad reputation among consumers. Margarine was invented in the 19th century as a cheap alternative to butter. It was originally made from animal fats or vegetable oils that were hydrogenated to create a solid product. Hydrogenation also created trans fats, which are now known to increase the risk of heart disease and other health problems .
However, margarine could be a healthy and vegan alternative to butter if it was made with the right ingredients. A modern vegan margarine should be made from plant oils that are free of hydrogenated oil and trans fats. It should also contain vitamins and other healthy fatty acids that can benefit your health. Sadly, I cannot find any vegan product that meets the legal definition of margarine.
So why are companies afraid to call their products margarine? Because they think that consumers will associate margarine with unhealthy and artificial ingredients. They also think that consumers will prefer plant butter because it sounds more natural and appealing.
But this is misleading and unfair to consumers who want to make informed choices about what they buy and eat. Plant butter is not a real category of food; it’s just a marketing gimmick. It’s also a scam because it charges more for less fat and less quality.
I urge you to boycott plant butter and demand that companies increase the fat content of their products to match dairy butter. I also urge you to embrace margarine as a vegan alternative to butter that is not ashamed of its name or its ingredients. Margarine can be delicious, healthy, and ethical if you choose the right brand and use it wisely.
Don’t fall for the plant butter scam. Choose margarine instead.