by Luis Miguel, The New American:
The Left and the global elites have long demonized eating meat, and accordingly have pushed fake, plant-based “meats.” But is the entire vegan house of cards on the verge of toppling over?
In a major blow to the industry, Impossible Foods, one of the most well-known manufacturers of meat alternatives, recently announced that it will be cutting 20 percent of its workforce. As Bloomberg reports, the Redwood, California-based company employs around 700 people, meaning the latest round of cuts would eliminate at least 140 jobs.
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This marks the company’s third wave of layoffs within the last year. The most recent was in October, when it cut six percent of its workforce.
Impossible Foods has made a name for itself thanks to partnerships with a number of big-name brands and restaurants. Its products can be found at chains like Burger King (which sells an Impossible Whopper), White Castle, and Qdoba.
The company has tried to make it seem like there’s no trouble in paradise. It recently claimed that its sales were up more than 50 percent in 2022, and in September, CEO Peter McGuinness maintained that Impossible Foods has a strong balance sheet. In the face of the job cuts, the company wants the public to believe that it’s simply streamlining itself to promote better growth.
But statistics for the plant-based meat market don’t inspire optimism. According to the research firm IRI, sales of meat alternatives dropped 15 percent by volume for the 52 weeks ending January 1.
There’s also data from HundredX, which states there has been a growth in the number of consumers who say they have eaten Impossible products but who are less likely to eat as much in the future.
And a 2021 survey of Australian men conducted by pro-fake-meat group Herculean Strength suggests that more than 70 percent of the participants would rather die 10 years earlier than forsake meat eating.
Part of the problem for the industry has been the connotation of wokeism surrounding fake meat. An example of this cited by Bloomberg was the intense customer backlash that erupted over the summer when Cracker Barrel announced its plans to add Impossible Foods’ sausage as a menu option.
The woes for Impossible Foods come even as the company has gone to great lengths to keep consumers interested, such as buying an entire full-page ad in The New York Times to push back against the notion that meat alternatives are merely a fad.
But it isn’t only Impossible Foods that’s flailing in the water. Other fake-meat companies now find themselves in a similar predicament.
As Bloomberg notes, Beyond Meat Inc., a major competitor to Impossible Foods, also recently found itself forced to slash 20 percent of its workforce — amounting to about 200 jobs.
The company has suffered from a string of setbacks. For one, McDonald’s chose to discontinue its much-hyped “McPlant” burger. And in November, Beyond made headlines when photos emerged showing mold in and near its food-production and storage equipment.
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