Big Beef Prepares For Battle, As Interest Grows In Plant-Based And Lab-Grown Meats
As sales of plant-based substitutes like almond milk rise and cow milk sales decline, the meat industry sees a cautionary tale. With meat alternatives growing, Big Beef takes the fight to regulators.
The U.S. meat industry is gigantic, with roughly $200 billion a year in sales, and getting larger. But the industry faces emerging threats on two fronts: plant-based meat substitutes and actual meat grown in labs.
Plant-based meat substitutes are a lot more, well, meaty than they used to be. They sear on the grill and even "bleed." They look, taste and feel in the mouth a lot like meat. Savannah Blevin, a server at Charlie Hooper's, an old-school bar and grill in Kansas City, Mo., says the vegetarian Impossible Burgers on the menu are popular with the meat-eating crowd.
"I had a vegetarian actually turn it
