Archive for March, 2018

23 Mar

A bit of tongue (alternative protein) in cheek

Posted by Mick Calder in Meat Industry.


Ever since the advent of burgers made from Textured Vegetable Protein (TVP) in the 1960s, and now with the hype being generated about alternative proteins, I have wondered why the creators feel the need to make their alternative protein product look and taste like meat. Are they secret meat eaters or are they genuinely interested in a protein substitute?

A recent report commissioned by Beef + Lamb New Zealand (B+LNZ) noted that consumers are looking for alternatives to red meat. Chief Executive Sam McIvor commented that “The technology to produce a consumer-ready alternative protein burger is here and is pushing for commercial scale.”

Archer Daniels Midland, the initial inventor of TVP (according to Wikipedia), developed his soy protein using an extruder to make the product in cylindrical form. The TVP was used as an additive or extender in the manufacture of food products; but then some users decided to make it into substitute hamburger patties, with similar colouring and texture to the original meat burger – but not quite the same. The current alternative protein developers are also reported to be aiming at producing alternative forms of ground beef burger patties and meatballs.

But if it is an alternative protein does it need to look and feel like meat? Is it to satisfy some primeval human desire to eat meat while lulling the senses to the fact that it is not the real thing?

If those who espouse the merits of the artificial product on environmental grounds, or even because of a personal distaste for the idea of red meat, then why does the substitute need to take on all or most of the attributes of the stuff they are trying to replace? The products are reported to have more protein, less fat and no cholesterol, which are claimed to be good for you. They also have less calories, so one would question why you would bother to eat it?

If it is so good, why not present it in the form of a log or biscuit, or cornflakes shapes, or even a yeast extract and develop recipes to match, rather than pushing it into the meat sector? It is a processed product so it could be produced in the same form as luncheon sausage slices and then it would look processed. Just think, the main course could be perfectly rounded protein biscuits or deli-style log slices with healthy vegetables, instead of medium rare steak and chips.

Of course, with all the claimed advantages of the alternative proteins, it raises the question of why the B+LNZ report also noted “an untapped demand for naturally raised, grass-fed, hormone-free and antibiotic-free red meat, with consumers prepared to pay a premium for such products”?

The other issue I have with alternative proteins is that they rely on the supply of soy beans and other such plants which will need to be produced in large quantities if the demand for alternative proteins increases. There are geographical and agricultural limits to the extent to which grassland used for grazing animals can be converted to productive arable land, so the prospects for alternative proteins taking out pastoral land are constrained.

Land available for increased production of such crops, over and above the current requirements, is limited unless more tropical rain forests are sacrificed, which implies large scale destruction, conversion, cultivation, additional fertiliser and herbicide use, and genetic modification of seeds, as is happening already in parts of South America and Africa.

So, are alternative proteins going to change the world, or are they just another flash in the pan?

13 Mar

Fund Raising Made Easy – Stay Alert

Posted by Mick Calder in Opinion.


One of the real “delights” of being treasurer of an organisation in this digital age is fending off the impertinent intrusions of scammers attempting to relieve the unwary of the organisation’s funds.

Fortunately I have not been inundated with such offensive behaviour, until recently.

The approach takes the form of an email headed “Quick One” or “Payment” from the President of the organisation – in this case the NZ Guild of Agricultural Journalists – and “signed” with their name. It’s all very polite, the salutation addresses me by name, is reasonably formal with good English and no spelling mistakes, as follows:

“Hello Mich,

I need you to set up a bank transfer for a payment ,let me know if you can handle this right away so I can send you the bank details and can you please confirm to me the recent available account balance? Waiting for your reply.

Thanks,
(President’s name)

So far, so good apart from misspelling my name and a misplaced comma.

But, the President has never asked for any funds in the past; we don’t conduct business in Australia on any regular basis; a payment of that amount is somewhat out of the ordinary; and as a reasonably well managed organisation we would need a tad more documentation than a barefaced request such as this. There is no mention of what the funds are for, nor is there any explanation of the need for urgency.

To see how far this would go I asked for details and immediately received this:

“Hello Mick,

Amount….$4,250,Its for financing an urgent project and the account will reimburse next
week Thursday unfailingly.please kindly send the swift copy after the payment.”

When I did not respond for a couple of hours it was followed by this

“This is the account information below,kindly to me the swift copy after you have made the payment,for Board record keeping and also i can send it to the beneficiary for proof of payment.

Bounyadeth Viora, Bank West, Account number: 0224484, Bsb: 302969, Bank Swift Code: bkwaau6p, Bank Address: 179/180 Macquarie st Liverpool nsw 2170

waiting to hear from you”

This reply was a little bit sloppy – the word spacing and capitalisation deteriorated, and the account holder’s name looked a bit dodgy (maybe he/she was getting over-excited by the prospect of easy money). The bank details checked out, but I suspect the account would disappear, along with the funds, if any payment were made. The kicker comes when you look at the reply email address – an innocuous looking, and probably untraceable impersonation in the form <ChiefExeOfficer1@mail2visionary.com>

The President of the Guild was astounded to learn that she had allegedly asked me to transfer funds to Australia, especially with no explanation. So the ChiefExeOfficer1 was advised to “Fuck off”. Sadly there was no response to this gentlemanly instruction.

What brasses me off is that despite being told to stop bothering me in basic Anglo-Saxon terms, as above, he or she waited a couple of weeks and decided to have another go with a slightly different message, again “signed” in the name of our president but with a different return email address.

“I need you to initiate a bank transfer or cash deposit in amount of $9,780 AUD for me today. Let me know if you are available, so I can forward the beneficiary details.” <presidentp@mail-me.com>.

The expletives were not deleted from my response. But the problem is that they cannot take a hint and I am now getting requests on a weekly basis – only the email addresses are changed to fool the naive. I have tried the approach by listing fabulous amounts of money available in various currencies including bitcoins, but the irony is lost on them. They keep asking for more.

As if this isn’t bad enough I have also been harassed by dodgy share-broker calls. In the last couple of months I have been on the receiving end of serial cell phone calls from a London number, only to be greeted by a very Asian sounding person trying to flog shares in international companies. Do they think i am Warren Buffet? At least they quickly mumble the name of the company they represent. But they get the short shrift as well.

I guess you just have to become suspicious, cynical and very tight fisted.