Its About Time

Beyond Beef has finally landed in grocery store freezers and it is just what we’ve been waiting for! Those of us who eat processed meat alternatives, that is to say. Not all vegans support “Meat Replacements” and some people prefer whole foods, etc. But, moreso than anything else Beyond Meat is helping drive the vegan movement to the next level.

Beyond Beef is a plant-based ground meat alternative that is great for the basics like Tacos and Spaghetti, and perfect for recipes such as Stuffed Delicata Squash, Tater Tot Casserole or Stuffed Mushrooms.

Cattle Ranchers Hate Ethan Brown

Beef Lobbyists are waging war against Beyond Foods, doing their best to convince the public that these are processed foods. This is true, Ethan Brown, CEO of Beyond Meat didn’t discover the fabled Beyond Burger tree. The products offered by Beyond Meat are processed into those forms.

But, what are they processing? Ingredients lists can seem like hieroglyphs to many people, lots of big words and chemical names that can be confusing and require research just to find out what’s in the food. Well, here’s a full list of ingredients:

The Holy Grail

Water, Pea Protein Isolate, Expeller-Pressed Canola Oil, Refined Coconut Oil, Rice Protein, Natural Flavors, Cocoa Butter, Mung Bean Protein, Methylcellulose which is a plant-based thickener derived from cellulose, Potato Starch, Apple Extract, Salt, Potassium Salt, Vinegar, Lemon Juice Concentrate, Sunflower Lecithin, Pomegranate Fruit Powder, Beet Juice Extract.

Scary, right? It looks like a grocery list for a salad. Beyond Beef is made without GMO’s, soy, or gluten and also avoids many of the health, sustainability, and animal welfare downsides of animal-based meat.

For comparison, this is a side by side nutritional breakdown of 1 pound of each, 70% lean Ground Beef and Beyond Beef:

The Winner Is:

Beyond Beef is the clear winner with a third of the calories, less than half of the fat, none of the cholesterol and, wait for it… more protein than the ground beef. Admittedly, Beyond Beef should try to reduce the sodium level because that’s quite high, and they do have more carbs than ground beef, but without all of the fat and cholesterol in someone’s diet, a little extra sodium and carbs aren’t such an issue.

Amino acids, lipids, trace minerals, vitamins, and water are the key factors at the core of all things meaty. As a result, Beyond Meat has created a spot-on replication using peas, mung bean, and rice, all of which provide a complete protein. The white specks scattered throughout the product are made from coconut oil and cocoa butter. 

Juicy Not Greasy

Adding plant-based fats provide helps the burgers produce their own oil as they cook, similar to the marbling of animal-based meat which creates a juicy result. It’s important to note that people with severe nut allergies should be cautious when introducing pea protein into their diet because peas are legumes.

Consequently, Beyond Meat has developed exceptional products that are driving non-vegans toward plant-based products like never before. 90% of the plant-based animal meat alternatives being purchased are from non-vegans.

Dress For The Job You Want

These awesome plant-based products are found in the meat section at most local grocers, or possibly in the meat alternatives section. At a bare minimum, Beyond Meat requests their products are placed in the meat section. Although, it is at the store’s discretion to place the products with the Vegetarian/vegan options. Ethan Brown’s goal is to introduce plant-based options to people where they are already purchasing other forms of protein.

Why would they take such a bold business strategy? Beyond Meat doesn’t just want to sell their products to the 8 million vegans and vegetarians in America, they want to sell to all 330 Million of us.

All things considered, Ethan Brown wants to target future vegans, established vegans aren’t their primary market. They’ve identified the key ingredients which give flesh its meaty texture and juiciness that the current carnivore-wanna-be thinks they crave. Go try some Beyond Beef today!