Tough times for plant-based meat

[brooklynite]

Axios

Companies that make faux burgers and other meat substitutes are laying off employees and staring down weak sales, amid what Beyond Meat describes as "ongoing softness in the plant-based meat category."

Why it matters: The biggest fast-food chains and meat producers have raced to cash in on fake meat, sensing consumer appetite for sustainable and animal-friendly alternatives. But high prices and flattening demand have dogged the industry.

Driving the news: Beyond Meat announced a 19% workforce reduction this month amid steepening revenue declines.
*McDonald's shelved plans to introduce a McPlant burger nationally.
*Brazil's JBS is closing Planterra Foods, its U.S. plant-based meat business, and Canada's Maple *Leaf Foods has whittled its plant-based meat division.
*Impossible Foods laid off 6% of employees, though it positions the move as part of a reorganization and says sales are growing.

“It’s worth asking: Are we nearing the end of a decade-long fad?” asks The Takeout.

[milestogo]

1. Its not a fad, but it is overpriced.

[GoCubsGo]

7. Yes, this is its main hinderance.

It's as expensive as hell.

[LymphocyteLover]

12. Really? Is it more expensive than meat?

especially if you count ethical costs and environmental costs...

[Ron Green]

15. But we don't count the ethical or environmental costs.

We’re still unwilling to accept the Big Truths that are staring us in the face as the consumerism bubble is bursting.

I like Michael Pollan’s diet:
“Eat food. Not too much. Mostly plants.”

[LymphocyteLover]

18. exactly

[electric_blue68]

27. To a lower income person who has a modest to very modest amount of extra income for fun this...

could be a hindrance to a quite occasional meal out by self, or with family, friends.

I definitely still want to try the "Impossible Burger".

Covid still restricts my days of easy going bopping around the Burroughs. 😭😤🤬

[LymphocyteLover]

48. Understood. Sadly, that healthier eating has to be a luxury.

[womanofthehills]

67. It's not healthy eating - it's ultra processed food

With glyphosate.

[Dorian Gray]

73. Impossible and Beyond Burgers

aren't exactly healthy eating. They have a similar cholesterol, saturated fat and sodium level to ground beef.

I actually like them, and when I have my friends who are vegan over, I make them for dinner. But we should follow advice about them that we do for red meat. (Once a week.)

Eat plants. Lots of them. But highly processed foods are not plants in recognizable form, and we should eat those in limits.

[womanofthehills]

86. Beyond Meat's Pennsylvania Plant Reportedly Had Mold and Bacteria Problems

Maker of plant-based meat products Beyond Meat has been hit with several exposes at the beginning of the week about its ongoing financial struggles, but Bloomberg came out swinging Monday with a report that the company’s Pennsylvania plant has had major problems with mold and bacteria. The issues have been present for the past several years, according to leaked internal documents. Bloomberg reported based on photos and documents provided by a former employee that there appears to be mold growing on containers, boxes, and walls inside the factory.

and:

Documents given to Bloomberg reportedly show that 11 of 56 product tests from June 2021 through June 2022 contained Listeria, a harmful bacteria that can be found in meat products.

https://www.yahoo.com/news/beyond-meat-pennsylvania-plant-reportedly-211000321.html

[Doremus]

55. Burger King has Impossible Whoppers. $7 and change. nt

[Sympthsical]

59. But they often have regular Whoopers 2/$5 or 2/$6

Paying over double price for a meat substitute is a bit of an ask for many people.

[womanofthehills]

87. Impossible Whoppers have very high levels of glyphosate

Something like 10 times the amount Beyond Burgers has but - Beyond Burgers has mold and listeria - as least the burgers coming from the Pennsylvania plant. https://www.yahoo.com/news/beyond-meat-pennsylvania-plant-reportedly-211000321.html

Give me a delicious grass fed/grass finished burger anyday.

[Takket]

36. Yeah

It is a 5 or 6 dollar add on top of a beef patty price at restaurant I see them sold at in burgers.

[LymphocyteLover]

47. Really? I've seen no real difference with price when I've had them in restaurants or takeout

Never bought the stuff from a store though

[Doremus]

56. They're the same price in restaurants. A bag of 10 Impossible burgers is about $15 here. nt

[Hekate]

38. When I was poor & had a couple of kids to feed, the "cost of meat" was on the cash register tally...

I was as conscientious as I could afford to be about the environment in as many ways as I could, but the bottom line was there were growing children who had to be fed every day out of a minimal salary.

In a country where a majority of people now live paycheck to paycheck, I try not to be too judgmental about people’s protein choices.

[mcar]

46. It is overpriced

$6.99 for 2 Beyond Burgers is ridiculous.

[LymphocyteLover]

49. that's from the grocery store?

[mcar]

50. Yes

I think it's the sale price too. I usually only get them when it's a BOGO.

[Doremus]

57. Can't speak to Beyond burgers but Impossibles are $15 for a 10pc bag here. nt

[burrowowl]

2. Interesting

[Tomconroy]

3. Phony meat never seemed like a winner to me.

[Polybius]

21. Too many people share this view

I work with a guy at work who took one bite (if that) and threw it away. He couldn't get past the fact that it was "fake meat" and the simulated blood freaked him out. It was all in his mind.

[womanofthehills]

88. Maybe it wasn't in his mind - mold, bacteria , wood, string, metal & plastics -don't taste good

Internal documents show that Beyond Meat products tested positive for Listeria 11 times between the second half of 2021 and the first half of 2022, according to the report. Documents were provided by one former employee and corroborated by two former employees who asked to remain anonymous.

String, metal, wood and plastics had been found in food between January and April of this year, according to Bloomberg. Photos also show mold and a bizarre photo of an overturned trolley cart inside a large funnel that's connected to production equipment.
https://www.cnet.com/health/nutrition/beyond-meat-pennsylvania-plant-has-apparent-mold-and-listeria-report-says/

[Hortensis]

35. I think it's inevitable. People will come to choose fake meat

as it becomes better and -- especially -- as the real thing becomes prohibitively expensive for many and less available.

[Tomconroy]

39. Take my burger from my cold, dead hand.

[Hortensis]

41. Lol, I wouldn't dream of it. Now.

I do rarely get a serious craving for a burger, though, and if that were all that were available... No promises.

[womanofthehills]

80. Phony meet with more than a touch of glyphosate

yummy - made in a lab!

[Ms. Toad]

4. Maybe, instead of trying to produce something that pretends to be something it isn't,

they will start to explore the variety of delightful ways to eat things which aren't meat (and don't pretend to be).

Just a thought.

[Mosby]

6. That's a very good idea. nt

[Kaleva]

10. I found that most of the weeds in my garden are edible

Pig weed, purslane, dandelion and clover

[Ms. Toad]

17. I've tried most of those -

not so much of a fan of them. I don't think I've tried pig weed. Oxalis is more my speed.

[Kaleva]

44. "edible" I think is the key word. I've never seen them described as delicious

[Ms. Toad]

68. But then again, I wouldn't describe collard greens as delicious, either . . .

[electric_blue68]

32. Not too big a fan of purslane. What do you do with clover - raw as part of salads?

What do they taste like? Besides - "green"? 😁

I'm not a big sprouts fan; bean sprouts, alfalfa. Ehhh.
I do really kind of like Sunflower spouts. 👍

[Kaleva]

43. I eat the white flower of the clover

[pandr32]

16. I agree, but it is helpful to make a transition.

There are families and groups that mix meat-eaters and vegetarians. Meat substitutes allow for popular dishes to be shared. My own family is among them. As the meat-eaters become more comfortable with the idea of plant-based substitutes they become more open to meals that do not include meat at all.
Meat having the feature space on the plate in American cuisine has been drummed into our culture. It is bad for our health and the environment. Our factory animal farms are inhumane.

[Ms. Toad]

20. I have yet to find a fake meat that would win over meat eaters.

There's no requirement to serve meat in a group of mixed meat eaters and vegetarians. Just because meat eaters eat meat does not mean there has to be meat at every meal (and making the main dish meat based is exclusive of those who don;t eat meat). Just serve them delicious vegetarian meals and they will be much happier than eating pretend meat that offers very few of the qualities they enjoy in meat. No one who enjoys meat because it is meat is going to be convinced that fake meat is better.

[pandr32]

23. I haven't seen a problem

Also, thanks to the internet, we can find out how to reproduce Beyond Beef and Impossible burger at home with healthy ingredients--in big batches to use or freeze. There is much more to their use than plain burgers. We have served plant-based meat substitutes in dishes served at gatherings that were absolute hits with heard-core 'meat and potatoes' fans. Of course, many other dishes without a meat substitute, too--especially Mexican, Italian pasta dishes, and Indian food.

Most meat eaters like hearty, flavorful food. They can be won over by feeling well sated and their palates pleased.

[Ms. Toad]

69. There are plenty of non-meat foods which satisfy the last paragraph,

Without pretending to be near

[Arazi]

83. I double the Boca burger patties (which are thin)

Add in the fixins’ and I’ve made progress with more than a few. The biggest problem (in my experience) was that the patty was so slender it didn’t offer up a hearty substitute.

And Boca crumbles in sloppy joes are indistinguishable. Nobody knows the difference especially if you make it with fresh onion, garlic, green peppers etc.

[Ms. Toad]

85. I've used the crumbles in chili.

I can definitely tell the difference.

[womanofthehills]

79. I eat only grass fed grass finished beef

It’s usually only a dollar more a lb out west if you live near ranches. Now nutritionists are saying the opposite - clean meat and fat are good for us. Many sick people claim to be healing on the carnivore diet.

It’s also - what food grown where? - with what water? Roundup? I will only eat organic vegetables. Nothing better than a meat and veggie stir fry. Why would anyone want to eat processed food??

[pandr32]

82. This should be true of all raised-for-food animals and produce.

Unfortunately, it is not. We need change.

[HAB911]

19. I like that idea and wish they would pursue it

Just go for something that's a completely different experience. I see the fake meat as a bridge from before to that something different.

[electric_blue68]

28. I don't know whether some of the Buddhist Influenced Chinese vegetarian restaurants that serve...

various mock" meats...

I'm assuming since Buddhism spread in Asia first way back I'd figure they started making those kinds of foods hundreds+ years back.

[electric_blue68]

33. Luckily once I Overcame my Very Picky Eater Child - Early Teenhood ways, and...

started eating a fair amount of the panoply of cuisines available here in NYC from the '70s onward I liked, to really love various vegetarian, and some vegan meals. Which I still enjoy today.

[Hortensis]

42. Sure. That IS the way I'd go, Ms. Toad. We're in our later years

and my husband's unwilling to go vegan, or even vegetarian, so we're not. Our DIL cooks two meals two or three times a day, vegan for her and what the guys want. But...

Speaking of those awful pretences, I almost starved when my daughter was inpatient in a hospital with a notoriously appalling vegetarian kitchen that offered nothing but fakes -- fake hamburgers, eggs, bacon, stroganoff, etc.

What I would have given for a decent green salad, but they apparently didn't have a recipe for fake salad. I could have lived on that and vegetable soup, though I developed a craving for a hard-boiled egg, but no to those also. Fortunately, I'd presciently cooked up a pot of ham hocks and beans, and my husband brought me that for 3 days.

So many have gone vegan that I've started bringing bring some favorite recipe that just happens to be vegan to potlucks, just in case.

[LymphocyteLover]

51. I mean, I'm perfectly happy with an ordinary bean/grain/tofu-based veggie burger

and there's tons of awesome totally plant based dishes. I don't need something veg to taste like meat.

The problem is people who miss meat I guess, but I've never had that problem even though I ate a lot of meat until I was 30.

[Genki Hikari]

58. Nope.

It's like eating a bunch of side dishes. And while it's okay at a small scale, it's not good enough for a real meal.

Some of us absolutely need meat, like those of us who deal with anemia.

Some of us have serious allergies to long lists of plant foods that make vegan/vegetarian impossible. Here are the plant foods I absolutely cannot eat:

Juniper berries (or ANY juniper)
Rose hips (and roses in general)
Potatoes (can't even TOUCH them without breaking out in hives)
Eggplant
Cayenne
Almonds
Peaches
Grapes
Capers
Kale
Cauliflower
Broccoli
Brussels sprouts
Turnips
Jicama

I have to limit these foods, which, if eaten occasionally (once every couple of weeks or so) don't bother me, but more often and it's UH OH:

Bell peppers
Most of the spicy peppers
Tomatoes (can't eat raw ones at all)
Corn
Cashews
Peanuts

Some things, I can only eat sparingly because the carb/sugar count doesn't play well with my diabetes, namely beets, carrots, and sweet potatoes. Oh, and acorn/butternut squash. I love them, but my blood sugar doesn't always play nice with them.

And some things I've learned from experience that my blood sugar cannot tolerate at all: Empty carbs like rice and wheat goods like bread and pasta. Most fruits are also in this category.

I spend enough time trying to navigate all that, and a casein (dairy) allergy on top of it, without having to find ways to make what plants I can eat not so boring and repetitive that I want to kill myself from the lack of culinary joy.

So I'll keep eating meat and meat subsitutes, thanks very much. It's one of the few pleasures I'm allowed anymore.

[Ms. Toad]

70. Seems to me that you're arguing against vegetarian meals,

Since the meat substitutes work have the same issues as the vegetarian food, since they are made from the same foods. I can't imagine pretending they are meat would solve your other issues with the ingredients.

[brooklynite]

61. Vegetables have already been invented.

I enjoy vegetables. I also enjoy meat. It’s not unreasonable to develop a substitute for people who enjoy the taste and texture of meat without the health or moral aspects.

[Ms. Toad]

71. It's a fad.

People who have to have meat won't be satisfied past the novelty stage. Those sho don't have to have meat won't be interested in fake meat.

[Silent3]

64. I don't think substitutes are a bad idea, per se, but I really like black bean burgers...

...just as their own thing, not trying hard to taste like beef. Impossible burgers aren't bad, but I like black bean burgers better.

[Ms. Toad]

72. Black bean burgers are great.

They are just trying to be the middle of a sandwich, not pretend meat.

[iemanja]

5. I'm a vegetarian who doesn't like plant-based meat

It's gross to me.

[bucolic_frolic]

8. Nutrition is what counts. Read the ingredients.

I can get all the wheat and oil I need in ordinary food. The benefit to me in plant-based food is in the slight cancer risk reduction from protein. Not sure if diabetes risk goes the other way.

[callous taoboy]

9. I really wanted to like Beyond Meat...

and did, initially. But I got tired of it quickly. I don't eat much red meat, but now am back to a burger once every few weeks.

[bif]

40. I thought it was pretty good

It tasted like a so-so hamburger. But load it up with cheese, mayo, and ketchup, and I really couldn't tell it was fake meat.

[werdna]

11. It's a great alternative for those -

- who are coronary patients who are meat addicted. Zero cholesterol in plant based products!

[frogmarch]

13. I'm a vegetarian, and I don't

want to eat anything that tastes like meat.

[LymphocyteLover]

62. My wife is very much like that. It's not my preference either but I will if there's no other choice

[LymphocyteLover]

14. I'm a vegetarian but one problem is a lot of vegetarians don't want to pretend to eat meat

The other problem is not enough people care about the real costs of meat to make the switch to fake meat. Plus the rightwing has totally mocked it, which turned off huge parts of the population.

[Peacetrain]

22. I have a issue, concern, curiosity. not sure how to phrase it with a process

that can literally make a plant taste like meat and have that pinkish cooked blood look.. Yes I have tried it, and gagged a little.. I have been vegan/pescatarian for over 11 years, and prefer bean substitutes for meat burgers..not opposed to meat on a philosophical stance..its just tasteless

[SickOfTheOnePct]

24. Never tried it

And not going to. For those who like it or would choose it as a meat alternative, good for them, and I hope that option will continue. But for me personally, if I want meat, I want meat, not a meat substitute.

[Amishman]

25. Some people mind the taste, myself included

Tried several varieties, they have a faint soapy aftertaste to me. My oldest claims the same, though this might just be copycatting me.

[electric_blue68]

34. Soapy?! Fascinating ... (haven't tried, don't know). I wonder if some small amount of Cilantro...

is in there!

I find it wild that bc gene X some people fine it tastes "soapy", and can't stand it ! 😮

I wonder if I have 1/4 gene inherited bc until I read about it -;and I love cilantro - I did then get, or noticed a quite faint soapy taste, not imaginery.
However it's major particular taste profile is way more appealing so I dismiss that little part.

[Sympthsical]

60. My first thought

I have the gene, I think, and the cilantro struggle is real. Soapy is the best description of it. Cannot stand the stuff.

I'm fun at Mexican restaurants.

[electric_blue68]

65. Oooh, boy, not too much fun.

[XanaDUer2]

26. I love Buffalo fake chicken nt

[Hermit-The-Prog]

29. Save the world; eat a billionaire.

[GenThePerservering]

31. But billionaires are generally so horribly tasteless. NT

[GenThePerservering]

30. I don't eat plant burgers as substitute meat

I eat them for a hearty hot sandwich. The Beyond has got a better health profile than the Impossible Burger. But yeah, they're pricey unless I get them in bulk at Costco.

Another hearty hot sandwich is a portobello mushroom sandwich.

Both with all the fixins, of course.

[Hortensis]

37. This sounds typical for introduction of really new technology

that requires big changes in choices by consumers.

It'll happen. The factors pushing development of faux meats are big and compelling and will become more compelling. Including simply increasing distaste for eating animals when viable alternatives are widely available.

And the quality of the product will continue to improve.

I haven't tried it yet. I tend to take a long view, and my view says it'll be better in future. At my age I'm happy letting others test-run the early pink slops and report back. Also, we can still afford real meat by eating cheaper cuts and smaller portions.

On our fixed budget that won't always be the case. The writing's on the wall. I'm already buying hamburger to cook with and almost never did before. First step...

[maxsolomon]

45. If it was SLIGHTLY less money per pound than an organic ground beef

if would find more willing customers.

But it isn't.

[Deminpenn]

52. Just eat regular fruits, plants and vegetables

Why have them in the highly processed form of "tastes like meat"?

[LymphocyteLover]

63. I guess the idea was to convert carnivores into veggie-based food for the environment

but it really hasn't worked out that way, not on the scale that's required to affect the environment anyway.

[Deminpenn]

74. Yeah, I suppose, but if humans

were meant to be evolutionary herbivores, we would be. Jmho, but I'm sure a public messaging campaign could reduce red meat consumption just like it has done for smoking if that's the goal.

[LymphocyteLover]

77. humans evolved to be omnivorous but can be perfectly healthy only eating plants and the occasional

dairy and eggs.

Certainly agree a public messaging campaign would help but the meat industry clearly will lobby against that and they are powerful. Also rightwingers have made it a cultural issue so that part of the population is lost to us.

[womanofthehills]

81. But the environment can be more messed up with Roundup

In ground, air and streams - while grass raised cows poop and enrich the soil. So many arguments in so many directions. Same for studies and nutritionists - half say eating meat is now considered good and half day the opposite. I say - eat what makes you as an individual feel good. Personally, I do better with more protein and fruit than veggies.

[Autumn]

53. The problem is that it's gotten very expensive.

[Mr.Bill]

54. Last friday we went to the food bank we regularly go to.

In recent months there has been very little meat to give out. No beef, and usually a small amount of frozen fish or poultry. This time they had Impossible Sausage. They gave us a box with 11 lbs of it. I'm not a vegetarian, but I tried some and it was actually better than I expected. I will share it with some vegetarian neighbors. I should explain that the way this food bank works, you don't get to pick what you want. You drive through with your trunk open and they just put food in there. When you get home you see what you got.

I don't know how they source their donations, but it is often institutional food, which is evident by the plain packaging and the quantity in a package. This was in a plain brown box, inside was one large plastic bag containing about 40 large sausages. I wonder if it is not selling well, or what.

[flvegan]

66. Is it?

I mean from their own words: *Impossible Foods laid off 6% of employees, though it positions the move as part of a reorganization and says sales are growing."

So some sales are growing, but maybe not according to Axios (owned by Cox, but whatever). I check my sources.

[David__77]

76. Too expensive, too much fat, too many calories.

That’s my opinion, as a long-time, sometimes consumer of meatless meat.

[jalan48]

78. Beyond Meat tastes awful to me and I haven''t eaten meat in 30+ years.

I think it has to do more with Beyond Meat and less about plant based protein.

[Celerity]

84. Not here in Sweden nt

[Demovictory9]

89. I buy the plant based option from panda express..new..hope it lasts