In a development that will likely come as a surprise to no one who is a regular reader of Legal Insurrection, it appears there has been a precipitous drop in the sales of products from the “meat alternative” company, Beyond Meat.
Once the darling of the plant-based food space, Beyond Meat has suffered a precipitous decline in sales as consumer consumption plunges. Economic uncertainty and concerns over the processed nature of the offerings has pushed shoppers toward cheaper animal options.Beyond Meat had cash and cash equivalents of $103 million as of June 28, compared to $132 million at the end of 2024, the company said in its most recent earnings release. In May, the company raised $100 million from a plant-based nonprofit, providing the alternative meat company with much-needed cash.Creditsafe estimated that Beyond Meat had $1.2 billion in debt. Around half of its outstanding bills were between 1 and 30 days past due in July, compared to roughly a third in September of 2024.“This increasing delay in payments to suppliers indicates that the company could be experiencing liquidity pressures,” Ragini Bhalla, head of brand with Creditsafe, said in a statement. “These rising DBT figures highlight growing financial challenges, especially considering their troubling Q2 earnings results.“
In further good news for those who enjoy steak, bacon, and other delicious, high-quality meat options, research now suggests that consuming meat is not associated with a higher risk of death and may even protect against cancer-related mortality.
Recent research from Canada’s McMaster University revealed that animal-sourced foods are not linked to a higher risk of death.The study discovered that animal proteins could also offer protective benefits against cancer-related mortality, according to a press release from the university.Researchers analyzed data from nearly 16,000 adults, aged 19 and older, considering how much animal and plant protein they typically consumed.They also examined whether these diet patterns were associated with a risk of dying from causes such as heart disease and cancer.The results revealed no increased risk of death in association with eating more animal protein.The data also showed a “modest but significant reduction” in cancer-related mortality.
As if all the meat-related wins weren’t enough, I have even more to report. Legal Insurrection readers may recall that in 2023, Biden’s Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) was poised to join the Global War on Meat by regulating wastewater from dairies, ranches, and poultry farms.
EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin recently announced a final action that will impose no additional wastewater discharge regulations on meat and poultry processing facilities.
This decision, according to the administration, is a core part of its “Powering the Great American Comeback” initiative, designed to lower the cost of living for American families and support domestic farmers.The announcement was met with widespread approval from key agricultural leaders and organizations, who had been vocal critics of the proposed regulations from the previous administration. They argued the rules would have created a burdensome and costly regulatory environment, threatening the viability of small and medium-sized facilities.“For the past four years, people in this country experienced the worst inflation in nearly five decades,” Administrator Zeldin stated. “EPA is saving billions of dollars in costs the American people would otherwise see in the prices of the meat and poultry they buy at the grocery store while ensuring the protection of human health and the environment.”
So, as I close the tabs on one of my favorite subjects and head to Montana to consume as many steaks as I can for the next 2 weeks, I leave you with this thought:
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