Beyond Meat’s ambitions have always been beyond reality

Some years ago, I spoke with the owner of the company that makes the Beyond Burger, and I asked him whom the target audience was for his product. Although I cannot remember his exact words, it truly can be summarized really easily in one word. He said, basically, “everyone” is the target audience for the Beyond Burger.

Now, I personally enjoy a big personality, so I just let that response ride, no problem. I can’t fault a person who truly believes in his product and his mission — heck, anybody would have to in order to dedicate their life to such a mission. It was the next statement, though, that stunned me.

Again, the exact words escape me after so many years — and because I was focused on keeping control of my eyes, which were trying desperately to roll — but he followed up by saying he wanted to take over the meat industry. See, there go my eyes, rolling again at that sort of ambition, which is, frankly, Napoleonic.

My background is food safety and security. I am a Midwesterner, which I like to think means I am a little more practical than our less-fortunate coastal cousins. A very important and practical part of food security is being able to obtain food (often, you hear about “food insecurity” in the news). Food security can take on many forms. I can raise and slaughter livestock. I can also grab my compound bow, head out to the stand and pull down a year supply of venison. That’s good ol’ traditional food security that people in heavily urban and suburban locales cannot possibly obtain, let alone understand. Our monstrous, efficient food supply chain makes it possible for many people to experience food security without raising or hunting for animals. The meat industry supplies enough product to meet that demand without blinking an eye.

Could everyone hunt for their meat or raise their meat in their backyard? Certainly not to the extent of the supply needed today — and that further illustrates why Beyond Burger’s desire to take over the meat industry is beyond reality. You see, I can sustain my own demand for animal protein easily enough, but not even I can raise a field of yellow peas, process them and run them through a half-million-dollar extruder the size of a Greyhound bus if I wanted a Beyond Burger. Are they planning to put a pea field in every yard or just make us dependent on the company and its pea producers? Even if I had a bazillion acres at my disposal here in the Midwest, the climate kind of gets in the way of those Napoleonic dreams. And that doesn’t even get me started on the environmental reasons why Beyond wants to take over the meat industry. My eyes are rolling again. This Missouri girl is not falling for it.

Now, I’ll say this: The Beyond Burger is not bad. They are better after a couple of stiff drinks and some mood lighting. Also, I cannot blame a guy for having big dreams. That is one of the best things about being an American. But the other thing that’s great about being an American is the fact that this Missouri girl can look at reality and tell him he can kiss her 100%-Vegan grits.

He will take over the meat industry when pigs fly.

— Martha Gore, Food Safety Consultant, martha@werfoodsafety.com