Fri. Mar 29th, 2024
Vegetarian MeatSource : thespruceeats.com

Can Meat Be Meatless?

Masses of people all over the globe are becoming interested in reducing the human footprint on the planet and making our industries sustainable. Many of them are focussing their energies on discouraging red meat consumption and offer solid reasons for their attitude. Due to the meat industry, 35% of the world’s grains go to feeding livestock, and this means a lot of food is being thrown away (since the meat nutrition produced is much less than the equivalent grain nutrition). Our seas are being overfished, cattle farms are producing huge amounts of greenhouse gases, and forest clearing for livestock is devastating the Amazon. These kinds of considerations are leading more and more green-conscious people to say no to meat. It has reached the point where the famous restaurant Eleven Madison Park in New York City has eliminated meat and fish from its menu. The business of meat substitutes has been mushrooming along with this trend and even  celebrity billionaires have invested big sums in the industry. At the same time, the demand for red meat in USA in 2020 was stronger than ever, with sales up 23.7% year-over-year. Americans do like the real thing, which is usually cheaper than plant-based alternatives. Let’s take a look at three of the biggest companies producing vegetarian meat at the moment and how they fare in the markets.

Beyond Meat

Beyond Meat started out in 2012, producing an alternative to chicken made from soy powder and carrot fibre. In 2015, something meatier was on the menu: the Beyond Burger, made from mung bean protein, potato starch, and red beet juice. Then came Beyond Sausage (2017) and Beyond Meatballs (2020). Beyond Meat stood out as the first vegetarian meat company to go public in May 2019. Reactions were favourable so that the company presented the best public offering by an American company in almost twenty years.

The pandemic’s arrival in March 2020 made a direct impact on Beyond Meat. On the one hand, Americans stocked up on frozen foods on a large scale, causing BYND stock to climb 65.3%. On the other hand, the closure of restaurants and food services businesses damaged sales significantly. 2021 has seen a relax in panic-buying, resulting in a dip in stock value of 16.1% by October. Q2 earnings did not match up to expectations, which itself pushed  Beyond Meat share prices down. However, the re-opening of the US economy in Q2 boosted the company’s food service business and revenue was up 32% year-over-year. Beyond Meat CEO Ethan Brown is enthusiastic about the company’s future but wary of the ‘recent uptick of Covid-19 cases, which could disrupt patterns.’

Upside Foods

CEO Uma Valeti (a cardiologist and professor) doesn’t run a company that merely mixes vegetables together. Upside Foods uses biotechnology to induce animal stem cells to turn into muscle tissue. In other words, this is really meat, but without the need to raise and slaughter an animal. Many investors believe strongly in Upside. ‘Upside Foods… has the potential to revolutionize the way people eat’, says John Mackey, CEO of Whole Foods.

Upside Foods has so far produced cultured meat, chicken, seafood, and even duck meat as of 2017. From that year, they found themselves able to reduce production costs significantly, which was an important development for the company. Not satisfied with restaurant partnerships, Upside has plans to stock grocery stores all around the world once commercial scale production has begun. One big injection the company has received is from massive investments by Bill Gates, Richard Branson and others.

Impossible Foods

One Impossible Foods product you might know is its sausage, made from soy and genetically modified yeast, and carried by big grocery stores like Safeway, Kroger, and Albertsons. In fact, 20,000 retailers stock the product. Impossible Foods is proud of statistics like these: its sausage takes 79% less water and 41% less land to produce than a pork sausage. It also contains 47% less fat. Impossible Foods is a private company and therefore does not publicize its financial performance, but it is preparing to go public in the near future. CEO Pat Brown sees a bright future and firmly believes ‘We’re building a great company.’

Looking Ahead

With plant based meats poised to be the next revolution in food, many traders looking to the financial side of things may find both opportunities and risks in the sudden upswing these companies are experiencing by trading CFDs on their share prices. CFDs, or Contracts For Difference, allow you to take advantage of price movements in both directions—increases as well as decreases—of major meat substitute companies like Beyond Meat, without having to purchase the underlying asset. But before you begin trading CFDs, considering trading with a regulated company to ensure the quality and integrity of the broker.

By manika

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