At the start of the year, McDonalds launched a plant-based burger sizzled on a flat-iron grill, then topped with slivered onions, tangy pickles, crisp shredded lettuce, Roma tomato slices, ketchup, mustard, mayo and a slice of melty American cheese. For a while, it looked like a glimpse of the future.
The US test run of the McPlant burger was quietly shelved last month (it is still available in some markets, including the UK) in one of a series of setbacks for a meatless-meat industry that only a year ago was claiming it could change the great American menu for ever.
Getting meat eaters in the US to adopt plant-based alternatives has proven a challenge. Beyond Meat, which produces a variety of plant-based products, including imitations of ground beef, burgers, sausages, meatballs and jerky, has had a rough 12 months, with its stock dipping nearly 70%.
Multiple chains that partnered with the company, including McDonalds, have quietly ended trial launches. In August, the company laid off 4% of its workforce after a slowdown in sales growth. Last week, its chief operating officer was reportedly arrested for biting another man on the nose during a road rage confrontation.
Its a dramatic reversal of fortune. Just two years ago, Beyond Meat, its competitor Impossible Foods and the plant-based meat industry at large seemed poised to start a food revolution.
After nearly a decade of development, plant-based meat started hitting the mainstream in 2018. Grocery stores started selling Beyond Meat ground beef and sausages, while more restaurants were offering plant-based meat on their menus. Burger King announced the launch of the Impossible Whopper, while other fast-food chains came out with similar launches, like a plant-based breakfast sausage sandwich at Dunkin and meatless pepperoni pizza at Pizza Hut.
For a time, Wall Street went vegetarian. In 2019 Beyond Meat was valued at over $10bn (8.9bn), more than Macys or Xerox. The most bullish investors believed that plant-based meat would make up 15% of all meat sales by 2030. But the reality of Americans interest in plant-based meat has proven more complicated than investors thought, and the adoption of meat alternatives has been slower than what was once hoped. Today Beyond Meat is valued at just over $900m (799m).
The sobering story is similar to those experienced by many new ventures that see exhilarating hype after a flood of Silicon Valley venture capital cash, fueled by excitement about innovation. Bill Gates backed Beyond Meat, and a number of venture capital firms that typically invest in tech startups funneled money to startups making plant-based meat. Even the meat industrys biggest players have, ironically, invested in companies coming up with plant-based meat.
The bulls in the industry, I think, had a very wild, very optimistic estimate of how big the market could get, said John Baumgartner, an analyst at Mizuho Securities. There was a lot of exuberance in this category. It was new, it was different, it was on trend.
But the consumer environment is tough, and this stuff is not cheap, he added. Its going to take time to change cultural practices. Its not going to happen overnight.
Some investors believed that plant-based meat would become what plant-based dairy alternatives have become to the dairy market, Baumgartner said. Dairy alternatives, like almond, oat and soy milk, now make up 15% of the market and are worth $2.5bn (2.2bn). A third of Americans drink some kind of non-dairy milk weekly.
But plant-based meats are different. For one, milk alternatives have been around for decades, while the development of plant-based meat really only started about a decade ago. Lactose intolerance has driven many Americans to choose non-dairy milk. And unlike plant-based meat, which is usually just as expensive or even slightly more expensive than regular meat, plant-based milks are priced between non-organic and organic milk, making their cost more accessible to consumers.
Both are, of course, better for animal welfare and potentially for tackling climate change, even more than plant-based meat. Research has shown that reducing meat consumption is the most effective thing individual consumers can do to fight climate change. One major study showed that a huge reduction in meat consumption ideally 75% less beef, 90% less pork and half the number of eggs per world citizen is essential to avoid climate catastrophe.
But consumers seem hesitant to adapt their behavior when the environment not their health or wallets is the sole beneficiary. Despite the increasing alarm over climate change, the number of Americans who are vegetarian or vegan has remained relatively stable over the last 20 years. About 5% of Americans in 2018 said they are vegetarian, while 3% are vegan, according to a Gallup poll.
Even when participants in a study conducted at Purdue University in Indiana were given information about the carbon footprint of meat production, participants were more likely to go with regular meat over a plant-based alternative.
Bhagyashree Katare, an author of the study, said that participants may have been put off by the taste of plant-based meat and the fact that it is not necessarily a healthier alternative to regular meat. Many plant-based meat alternatives are comparable to their real meat counterparts in nutritional content. That it costs about the same as meat also diminishes its attractiveness to consumers.
If Im spending money in a restaurant, and Im a meat eater, why would I spend money on plant-based meat? I would rather eat an actual burger, Katare said. Its a technology, and it takes a long time for people to trust the technology and adopt it. I think thats where plant-based meat is. Maybe the technology will improve, and it will get better health-wise.
Different companies have taken varying approaches to developing their plant-based meat products. Beyond Meat has focused on using natural ingredients, like protein from peas, mung beans and brown rice, for its meat. Impossible Food, its Silicon Valley competitor, has taken a more technological approach, using genetic engineering and fermentation to make its meat alternatives.
The goal for many of these companies has largely been to develop a plant-based product that matches the texture, taste and juiciness of real meat. While a Beyond Meat sausage or Impossible Burger is much closer to real meat than vegan sausages or veggie burgers, researchers are still trying to make plant-based meat tastier, healthier and cheaper.
Its still quite early on in the plant-based food industry, said David Julian McClements, a professor of food science at the University of Massachusetts Amherst who researches plant-based food alternatives. Its very challenging. Meat has a very complicated structural architecture, very complex, fibrous structure And that structure is what determines its appearance and its texture, the way it behaves in your mouth when youre chewing it, how chewy or juicy it is.
When making their arguments against plant-based meat, lobbyists for the meat industry have pointed out that these meat alternatives are processed food. One ad campaign called them ultra-processed imitations and asked consumers whats hiding in your plant-based meat?
Plant-based meat has also struck a nerve in Americas neverending culture wars. Ten conservative states in 2018 and 2019 outlawed the use of meat in labels for products that are not coming from animals, targeting the plant-based meat industry. Republicans took on a talking line in 2021 that Democrats were going after red meat as a part of Joe Bidens climate plan, though it was based mostly on speculation and false reports.
Not gonna happen in Texas! Greg Abbott, the states governor, tweeted in response to the fake reports.
Despite naysayers against plant-based meat, McClements is optimistic that science can bring better meat alternatives, ones that will eventually be harder for meat eaters to resist.
Just because its processed doesnt mean its unhealthy. You can design good nutrition and health into these products. Some companies are really making a big effort to do that.
There is still a lot of cash going toward companies working on better alternatives. The Good Food Institute, a non-profit that promotes plant-based alternatives, estimated that such companies got $1.4bn (1.2bn) in funding in 2021 a record for the industry. Companies are also making a wider array of products, including alternatives to fish and steak.
The ideal situation is you make a product that is indistinguishable from meat, and its cheaper, convenient and accessible, McClements said. Then if you have a choice between meat and this product, you always buy the plant-based one because you know its better for the environment, its definitely better for animal welfare, and it should be better for your health if designed properly.
Excerpt from:
Id rather eat an actual burger: why plant-based meats sizzle fizzled in the US - The Guardian
- Principles of Genetic Engineering - PMC - National Center for ... - March 28th, 2024
- Historic Overview of Genetic Engineering Technologies for Human Gene ... - March 28th, 2024
- 20.3: Genetic Engineering - Biology LibreTexts - December 10th, 2023
- Genetically modified organism - Wikipedia - November 16th, 2023
- Genetic engineering - DNA Modification, Cloning, Gene Splicing - November 16th, 2023
- 18 Human Genetic Engineering - Clemson University - April 7th, 2023
- Pros and Cons of Genetic Engineering - Benefits and Risks - April 7th, 2023
- Genetic Engineering - Meaning, Applications, Advantages and Challenges ... - March 12th, 2023
- Genetic Engineering Principles of Biology - December 27th, 2022
- Engineering the Perfect Baby | MIT Technology Review - December 27th, 2022
- What is CRISPR? | Live Science - November 24th, 2022
- To modify or not to modify? Genetic Modification and Gene Editing - A divergence by the UK - Lexology - October 13th, 2022
- DNA and the impossibility of research in isolation - Morning Star Online - October 13th, 2022
- Genome editing technologies: final conclusions of the re-examination of Article 13 of the Oviedo Convention - Council of Europe - October 13th, 2022
- Approval, Commercialization Highlighted at Cell & Gene Meeting on the Mesa - Genetic Engineering & Biotechnology News - October 13th, 2022
- Dissatisfaction and New Articulations - Discovery Institute - October 13th, 2022
- In 'The Cultivar Series,' Uli Westphal Gets to the Root of Crop Diversity and Agricultural Modification - Colossal - October 13th, 2022
- Genomic Research Aids in the Effort to Understand How Best to Treat Deadly Infections Caused by a Fungus - UMass News and Media Relations - October 13th, 2022
- Synthetic Biology Market is Expected to Report a CAGR of ~21% from 2021 to 2029: Industry Size, Growth & Forecast at Douglas Insights - Yahoo... - October 13th, 2022
- Farmers, consumers will embrace GMOs if they understand them - The Standard - October 13th, 2022
- Emily Whitten: The limits of science and human intelligence - WORLD News Group - October 13th, 2022
- Behind this Nobel prize is a very human story: theres a bit of Neanderthal in all of us - The Guardian - October 13th, 2022
- Earth materials in technology The National - The National - October 13th, 2022
- Gene therapy brings hope to people with sickle cell, HIV - Monitor - October 13th, 2022
- Eligo Bioscience Receives FDA Orphan Drug Designation (ODD) and Rare Pediatric Disease (RPD) Designation for EB003 for the Prevention of Hemolytic... - October 13th, 2022
- Skin Grafting, Cryopreservation, and Diseases: A Review Article - Cureus - October 13th, 2022
- Cultured meat could help solve the climate crisis. Heres what it will take to move it from the lab to the dinner table - Fortune - October 13th, 2022
- Ignore scary messages: We've never had it so good & that's not manure - West Side Index & Gustine Press-Standard - October 13th, 2022
- Global Phosphoramidite Market Report 2022: Increasing Synthetic Nucleotide Applications in Therapeutics Drives Growth - ResearchAndMarkets.com -... - October 13th, 2022
- Enzymes Market worth $16.9 billion by 2027 - Exclusive Report by MarketsandMarkets - Yahoo Finance - October 4th, 2022
- Experts Sound Alarm Over 'Growing Threat' of Genetically Engineered Trees - Common Dreams - October 4th, 2022
- Scientists are manipulating the DNA of mosquitoes to fight the spread of malaria - Euronews - October 4th, 2022
- Smile Coffee Werks upgraded its coffee beans to Fair Trade and USDA Organic - Vending Market Watch - October 4th, 2022
- COVID mRNA Jabs and Testing Kicked Off This Industry of Drug Development: Here's What You Need to Know - The Epoch Times - October 4th, 2022
- 22nd Century Group (Nasdaq: XXII) Expands VLN Distributor Network with the Addition of Specialty Distrib - Benzinga - October 4th, 2022
- Researchers are seeking to develop spuds that resist harmful nematodes - FreshPlaza.com - October 4th, 2022
- Synthetic biology has the power to cure and kill. How will we use it? - Big Think - September 25th, 2022
- SPECIAL REPORT: Bioengineered food labeling: 'They kind of shot in the middle and missed every constituency' - FoodNavigator-USA.com - September 25th, 2022
- Yeast-Fermented Chemo: Now We Can Brew Anything - Medscape - September 25th, 2022
- September 23, 2022: The Integrity of Marius Mason WFHB - WFHB News - September 25th, 2022
- 2 Risky Cathie Wood Growth Stocks to Buy and Hold for 5 Years - The Motley Fool - September 25th, 2022
- Bananas threatened by devastating fungus given temporary resistance - New Scientist - September 25th, 2022
- 'What Hath God Wrought' - Today, Luddites Are Concerned About Weedkillers Like They Once Were The Telegraph - Science 2.0 - September 25th, 2022
- Children should be educated about oral health and hygiene - Star of Mysore - September 25th, 2022
- Health Tech startups are booming. These 11 VC investors are behind some of the hottest deals - Fortune - September 25th, 2022
- Last Chance This Fall to Tell the NOSB To Uphold Organic Integrity - Beyond Pesticides - September 25th, 2022
- Cambodian PM begins official visit to Cuba - Khmer Times - September 25th, 2022
- Researchers develop method to prevent spread of melanoma to brain - Xinhua - September 25th, 2022
- I'm allergic to the cat, what can I do? - Surinenglish.com - September 25th, 2022
- Researchers Propose a New Way of Regulating Engineered Crops - Modern Farmer - September 16th, 2022
- Purple Tomato is first genetically engineered plant to be deregulated through USDA's new regulatory status review process - Lexology - September 16th, 2022
- Genetically Modified Feed Market to Hit $135 billion by 2030, says Global Market Insights Inc. - Yahoo Finance - September 16th, 2022
- Africa, GMOs and Western Interests - DW (English) - September 16th, 2022
- The science behind the oil supply breakdown in 'Last Light' - Syfy - September 16th, 2022
- Inside the controversial plan to bring extinct animals back from the dead - The Independent - September 16th, 2022
- Star Trek Actor Says Their Trek Hero Is Just Like Their Marvel Character - Giant Freakin Robot - September 16th, 2022
- Scientists closer to making blood stem cells in the lab - Cosmos - September 16th, 2022
- Oncolytic Cancer Therapies Market is expected to grow at a CAGR of 33% by 2032 | DelveInsight - Digital Journal - September 16th, 2022
- Don't call it waste - it can be turned into hydrogen if you handle it right - Innovation Origins - September 16th, 2022
- Can gene editing ease the cost of living crisis? - The Grocer - September 8th, 2022
- Gene editing could revive the American chestnut tree and help fight climate change but familiar anti-biotechonology activist critics will have none... - September 8th, 2022
- Colossal to de-extinct the Tasmanian tiger. Is it a safe thing to do? - Cape Cod Times - September 8th, 2022
- The Future of Nanotech, the World's Tiniest Industry - Entrepreneur - September 8th, 2022
- Viewpoint: The 'natural food' sham 'Effective communication on the ethics of science may be hindered by appeals to naturalness' - Genetic Literacy... - September 8th, 2022
- Toray says it has developed the worlds first 100% bio-based adipic acid - Biofuels Digest - September 8th, 2022
- Chinese scientists claim to have engineered the world's first mouse with fully reprogrammed genes - Interesting Engineering - August 30th, 2022
- Century Therapeutics Receives Study May Proceed Notification from FDA for CNTY-101, the First Allogeneic Cell Therapy Product Candidate Engineered to... - August 30th, 2022
- Living Carbon: The startup setting down roots from 9 to 5 | Greenbiz - GreenBiz - August 30th, 2022
- Novavax Nuvaxovid COVID-19 Vaccine Granted Expanded Conditional Marketing Authorization in the United Kingdom for Use in Adolescents Aged 12 Through... - August 30th, 2022
- Genetics in fiction - Wikipedia - August 14th, 2022
- Weeds superpower could help feed the planet - Freethink - August 14th, 2022
- POSEIDA THERAPEUTICS, INC. Management's Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations. (form 10-Q) - Marketscreener.com - August 14th, 2022
- Novartis Confirms Deaths of Two Patients Treated with Gene Therapy Zolgensma - Genetic Engineering & Biotechnology News - August 14th, 2022
- LETTER TO THE EDITOR: Lessons from 1984 | Letters To Editor | carolinacoastonline.com - Carolinacoastonline - August 14th, 2022
- How Arkeon Biotechnologies is turning CO2 into food: 'Excuse my language, but this is next-level cool' - FoodNavigator.com - August 14th, 2022
- Synlogic Announces Synthetic Biotic for Gout Developed in Partnership with Ginkgo Bioworks - PR Newswire - August 14th, 2022
- THE SAD STORY OF THE REJECTION OF SCIENCE - Sp Supplements - DAWN.COM - DAWN.com - August 14th, 2022
- Global Genome Editing Technologies market is projected to grow at a CAGR of 15.96% by 2032: Visiongain Reports Ltd - Yahoo Finance - August 5th, 2022
- I Got Critiqued by YouTuber Gutsick Gibbon - Discovery Institute - August 5th, 2022
- CRISPR Technology in the Agricultural Industry: Patent and Regulatory Updates - JD Supra - August 5th, 2022