Free Republic

A new study suggests it doesn't take long for a diet free of animal products to slow biological aging rates, with the heart, liver, and hormonal and inflammatory systems all benefitting from the temporary change. Led by a team from the Stanford University School of Medicine, the study analyzed the rate of DNA methylation; a kind of reversible genetic modification which is often used as an indicator of how quickly the body is wearing out. Among a group of 21 pairs of identical twins, one of each pair adhered to a vegan diet over the course of eight weeks, while...

As inflation remains stubbornly high, farmers throughout the Western world are warning that cost increases from the net zero movement will drive food prices still higher, while simultaneously putting many smaller farmers out of business.January inflation numbers showed that prices increased by 3.1 percent over what they were a year ago, indicating that the fight against inflation, while progressing, has not been won.Overall, prices have surged by nearly 18 percent since January 2021 when President Joe Biden took office.Americans are struggling in an economy in which, by official statistics, nearly one-fifth of the value of their dollars has evaporated in...

Beef burgers are back on the menu as demand for vegan food plunges.Veganism is being edged out and meat is back on the menu with the latest craze among foodies being ‘smashed burgers’, new data suggests.Plant-based brand Beyond Meat last week revealed its revenue had dropped by 9 per cent as demand for its animal alternatives stalled.

Plant-based meat substitute maker Beyond Meat said its revenue plunged 30.5% in the second quarter as consumer demand for its burgers, sausages and other products fell despite price cuts. The El Segundo, California-based company lowered its full-year revenue forecast as a result. Beyond Meat now expects revenue between $360 million and $380 million for the year. That’s down from the $375 million to $415 million it forecast at the end of the first quarter. Beyond Meat’s shares fell 10% in after-hours trading Monday. In a conference call with investors, Beyond Meat President and CEO Ethan Brown said the company faced...

Shares of meat alternatives soared when Beyond Meat, the California-based producer that's come to epitomize the sector, went public four years ago, but a fall in stock prices suggests that venture capital investments may have gotten ahead of market realities. These types of investment cycles are not new to the agricultural and food markets, but meat alternatives have been widely covered in the media because they are part of the larger conversation about climate change and food insecurity. But existing meat substitutes are not as affordable as real meat and not similar enough in taste. And they have not been...

...Its stock has slumped nearly 83% in the past year. Sales, which the company had expected to rise as much as 33% this year, are now likely to show only minor growth.... In late October, the company said it was laying off 200 people, or 19% of its workforce. And four top executives have departed in recent months, including the chief financial officer, the chief supply chain officer and the chief operating officer, whom Beyond Meat had suspended after his arrest on allegations that he bit another man’s nose in a parking garage altercation. What investors and others are debating...

This week, Bloomberg surfaced photos from Beyond Meat’s Pennsylvania plant allegedly showing evidence of mold, listeria, and other food safety issues. Products from the plant tested positive for listeria 11 times between the second half of last year and the first half of this year, according to Bloomberg, and internal reports from the company reveal that substances such as wood, metal, and plastic have been found in food from the plant. ("The most recent Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture inspections of the facility (in March and September 2022) found no instances of nonconformance with regulations, and we remain in good standing...

A food processing plant belonging to one of the biggest faux meat companies is riddled with bacteria and food safety violations. Internal documents and photos from the Beyond Meat plant in metro Philadelphia paint a picture of dangerous conditions with possible repercussions for consumers. Bloomberg obtained the evidence from plant whistleblowers, publishing the findings in a Monday report. A food safety attorney interviewed by Bloomberg indicated that the conditions at the plant were seriously unhygienic. “If neat and tidy is one and filthy is 10, I’d put this at an eight,” attorney Bill Marler said of the plant. A food...

Beyond Meat is cutting its workforce by 200 employees, and its chief operating officer is leaving the company, according to an SEC filing Friday. For the second time this year, the plant-based meat company is cutting its workforce again, this time by almost 20%. According to Bloomberg, the company has to lower expenses as inflation forces consumers to consider less-expensive protein options. In August, the company cut its workforce by 4%, citing “broader economic uncertainty,” according to CNBC. Top exec steps down Beyond Meat Chief Operating Officer Doug Ramsey will leave the company on Friday following his recent arrest in...

Beyond Meat, a plant-based meat substitute company, is struggling to sell its products as consumers are rejecting them as they consider plant-based meats “woke,” Bloomberg reported Monday. Deloitte, a large consulting firm, found that consumers are no longer choosing to buy meat substitutes because they are considered far too “woke,” even among individuals that are looking to eat less red meat, according to Bloomberg. Sales of Beyond Meat’s burgers, sausages and other meat-substitute products are on the decline as the company’s stock has plummeted by 77% in 2022. Beyond Meat claims that its plant-based products are healthier for both individuals...

A top executive at plant-based food company Beyond Meat was arrested after he allegedly chomped down on a man’s nose during a fight outside Razorback Stadium in Arkansas Saturday. Chief Operating Officer Doug Ramsey faces charges connected to the unusual incident that was sparked from an altercation inside a parking garage following the University of Arkansas football team’s win over Missouri State. Ramsey, 53, was attempting to leave in his Bronco when a driver in a Subaru nudged his way in front of him and made contact with his front passenger side tire, KNWA-TV reported, citing a preliminary police report.

The Chief Operating Officer of El Segundo-based Beyond Meat was arrested on a pair of charges after allegedly biting a man’s nose in a parking garage in Fayetteville, Arkansas, on Saturday night. Doug Ramsey, 53, of Fayetteville, was arrested on September 17 on charges of terroristic threatening and third-degree battery. According to a preliminary report, the incident happened at a parking garage near Razorback Stadium following the University of Arkansas’ victory over Missouri State. Just after 10 p.m. local time, an officer was dispatched to Gate 15 for “a disturbance that had previously occurred in the Stadium Drive Parking Garage...

Beyond Meat’s sales have fizzled rather than sizzled after fast-food trials of its product had customers asking, “Where’s the beef?” McDonald’s is the latest fast-food giant to complete a trial of a Beyond Meat plant-based product (the McPlant burger). JPMorgan Chase & Co. analyst Ken Goldman released a market research note that indicated the product was being broadly discontinued in the U.S. last Thursday. The two companies signed a three-year global distribution deal in 2021. Mr. Goldman, who spoke with employees at 25 McDonald’s locations, wrote that “Not surprisingly, the reason sometimes being cited is that the product did not...

(Reuters) -Beyond Meat Inc lowered its forecast for 2022 revenue on Thursday and said it would cut several jobs at a time when demand for its plant-based products is fizzling out in the United States. Analysts have said alternative meat makers should improve their products' taste to attract consumers as a few restaurants including McDonald's Corp have ended U.S. tests of their plant-based menu items without confirming a broader launch. "The company is announcing a reduction-in-force affecting approximately 4% of its global workforce," Beyond Meat said in a statement.

Plant-based meat company Beyond Meat said Thursday that its sales dropped in the fourth quarter due to weak U.S. retail demand. Beyond Meat said restaurant sales are showing promise as its products roll out to more locations. Panda Express began selling Beyond Meat orange chicken at 70 U.S. locations in October, for example. Beyond Meat’s U.S. food service sales rose 35% for the quarter. But the company said that couldn’t make up for a 19.5% decline in sales at U.S. groceries and other retailers. In a statement, Beyond Meat President and CEO Ethan Brown said the company believes weak retail...

Animal rights advocate and author Carol Adams has been savaged for throwing "every woke buzzword" into a fiery speech at the Oxford Union 'Beyond Meat' Debate on Wednesday. Ms Adams claimed eating meat is linked to a "white supremacist patriarchal worldview" and that white supremacists "weaponised" eating meat, eggs and dairy to reclaim their wounded masculinity. But social media users were quick to hit back at the viral speech, arguing the use of "woke logic threads" has "no overarching connection" to meat. 'The Sexual Politics of Meat' author argues the act of eating animal "corpses" are "massaged by euphemistic language"...

Taco Bell, the restaurant known for having ground beef that's utterly indescribable, reportedly told Beyond Meat that its version of carne asada wasn’t good enough to serve. According to Bloomberg, the chain canceled a test product that featured Beyond’s plant-based steak after samples failed to live up to its standards. Beyond Meat denies the report — Shira Zackai, head of communications at the company told The Verge in an email that “the test between Beyond Meat and Taco Bell was not canceled. Our partnership is strong, and we are actively working together to create a plant-based protein that’s completely new...

Beyond Meat Implodes After Reporting Catastrophic Q3 Sales Confirming yesterday’s observation that the market is quick and merciless to punish any and all stocks that miss expectations this quarter, moments ago (former growth stock) Beyond Meat plunged 14% after reporting preliminary net revenue for third quarter of about $106 million, missing the estimate of $134.3 million by about 30%, and a huge disappointment to the company’s prior guidance which was $120 million to $140 million. As Bloomberg notes, while the Company’s previous third quarter guidance anticipated a sequential decline in net revenues, the deceleration was far larger than anticipated. The...

For the first time, a study shows how glucocorticoid hormones, such as cortisol, control sugar and fat levels differently during day and night, feeding and fasting, rest and activity, over the course of 24 hours. The research conducted in mice found that the time-of-day dependent metabolic cycle is altered by high caloric diet. Since glucocorticoids are widely used drugs for the treatment of inflammatory diseases, these findings published in Molecular Cell suggest that lean and obese patients might respond differently to steroid therapy. Finally, it reveals the biological function of daily rhythms of hormone secretion (high before awakening and feeding,...

Is the hype of the plant-based burger craze and laboratory-grown beef already outstripping the reality? I’ve seen varying taste test reports on the Impossible Whopper and similar offerings, ranging from the ecstatic to the disgusted, but even the real fans aren’t saying that it’s better than a finely grilled burger. At most, they say it’s hard to tell the difference. But now we’re hearing from some of the scientists looking into these experimental monstrosities and they’re claiming that in the very near future, plant-based or lab-cultured “meat” is going to taste better than actual beef. What does that even...