The Fake Meat Industry is Getting Desperate

After years of sky-high valuations, plant-based meat companies are grappling with shrinking sales and the reality that Americans prefer the real thing

When Impossible Foods CEO Peter McGuinness hints that his plant-based meat company might start blending real beef into its burgers, you know the fake meat industry has reached a crossroads. The executive who once promised to save the planet one meatless patty at a time is now considering the very ingredient his company was founded to eliminate.

The confession reveals just how desperate the alternative protein sector has become. After years of sky-high valuations and promises to revolutionize dinner plates, plant-based meat companies are grappling with shrinking sales, consumer backlash over taste and price, and the uncomfortable reality that Americans still overwhelmingly prefer the real thing. With Beyond Meat’s stock down 97% from its peak and the industry shedding jobs, fake meat makers are scrambling to find new strategies, including ones that seem to go against their core mission.

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