US firm cuts revenue forecast as consumers opt for cheaper animal protein amid cost of living crisis

During the pandemic, plant-based meat consumption and media coverage exploded. Now, a host of trend pieces decry its demise. That shift is no organic accident.

Detailed analysis finds plant diets lead to 75% less climate-heating emissions, water pollution and land use than meat-rich ones

Vegetarian and especially vegan diets can promote better health, help mitigate climate change and reduce inhumane factory farming

Taco Bell recently announced that they are currently testing out a vegan version of their iconic Crunchwrap in select cities. However, it’s not going nationwide just yet. It's available at select locations in cities with notable vegan populations — Los Angeles, New York City and Orlando. Those cities were selected because they have “notable vegan populations,” the company said. The vegan version is priced the same as a traditional wrap, which ranges from $4.99 to $6.79 depending on the city.

What kind of protein we eat has huge implications for our health — and well beyond. Besides the health, ethical, or religious reasons why people choose to stop eating meat, the way animals are raised to be food has enormous impacts on land use, deforestation, and carbon emissions. And as the global population continues to grow, per-capita meat production to meet that demand is growing even faster.

Beyond Meat appears to be available in a new retailer: Dollar Tree. Shoppers have posted videos to social media in the last few days showing themselves buying the plant-based meat maker's products at a steep discount to their prices at other stores. One Instagram user posted a video showing several trays, each containing two Beyond Burger patties, in the frozen food section of a Dollar Tree store.

Meat.The End claims to be introducing the first meat alternative burger to market made from texturized chickpea protein isolate, using its proprietary technology. We catch up with CEO Dr Yishai Mishor to ask what makes this development an industry first.

Sales of plant-based foods across 13 European countries have grown by 22% since 2020 with the category reaching a record €5.7 billion, according to a new report. International nonprofit the Good Food Institute Europe (GFI Europe) analysed NielsenIQ data, finding sales of plant-based meat grew to €2 billion in 2022 – accounting for 6% of the overall pre-packaged meat market – while other categories, including plant-based seafood and cheese, saw double-digit growth.

According to the report in 2022 per capita meat consumption dropped from 56.2 kilograms per person to 52, a 7.5% decrease. No year between 1989 and 2022 has seen a lower kilogram per person rate for meat consumption. In terms of specific meat products, in 2022 Germans ate roughly 10% less pork (2.8 kg per person), 2.9% less poultry (400 grams per person) and 8.2% less beef/veal (900 grams per person).

Italy has joined the list of countries moving to restrict labels on plant-based “meat” products. The lawmakers proposing such labeling rules — which include banning terms like “burger” or “sausage” — argue that using traditional meat-related terms for plant-based foods could mislead consumers.

On January 4, global fast-food chain McDonald’s will roll out a new Double McPlant in all restaurants in the United Kingdom and Ireland. The move comes after a successful launch of its original plant-based burger, the McPlant, last year.

Nearly half of global consumers predict that plant-based food will be the norm within a decade, new research indicates. Almost 30,000 people, across 31 countries, provided data to research firm GlobeScan. Surveys were conducted in partnership with non-profit EAT, which advocates for a sustainable food system.

The former head of culinary innovation at Burger King, Chef Mike Salem, put the Impossible Whopper on the menu. Now, he is working with Kevin Hart to turn his Hart House vegan concept into the future of fast food with a “plant-based for the people” ethos.

The study, titled Plant-based diet for obesity treatment, was published in this months issue of the journal Frontiers in Nutrition, and was epublished by the National Library of Medicine. It was conducted by researchers at the Universiti Brunei Darussalam in Brunei.

Korea’s Better Meats just launched in the US with SPAM-style vegan canned ham, along with cold cuts, meatballs, and sausage patties.

An analysis of studies linking diet to cancer shows that meat-free vegetarian diets reduce the risk of certain types of cancer.

Burger King has announced one of their restaurants will go 100% plant-based for an entire month. It didn’t take long for meat-lovers to rally outside the restaurant to show their anger toward this decision.

About 10% of Americans over the age of 18 consider themselves vegan or vegetarian as of January 2022. That’s the main finding of an online survey we administered to 930 Americans, selected to be representative of the U.S population in terms of gender, education, age and income. The margin of error is plus or minus 2%.

Oxford University research also finds pescatarians have 10% reduced risk compared with those who eat meat regularly