According to Bloomberg, Applegate Farms, a subsidiary of meat giant Hormel Foods,
is looking to invest in the $3.7 billion plant-based market.
In a recent interview, Applegate president
John Ghingo said: “We’re a brand that is always looking for better solutions
and how do we continue to make progress. We are definitely considering creating
new products. He added that plant-based meat alternatives were a “really
interesting space.
Bloomberg identifies concerns about health,
animal welfare, and the environment as key factors in the growing plant-based
food market.
Investing
in plant-based and clean meat alternatives is a wise business move considering
how many people are ditching animal products.
Recently, Y Combinator, the startup
accelerator company behind Airbnb, Reddit, Dropbox, and Instacart, announced it
was looking to invest in clean meat startups set to take on
the meat industry.
In 2016, Tyson Ventures made an undisclosed investment in plant-based protein company Beyond
Meat. Tyson CEO Tom Hayes remarked, “Plant-based protein is growing
almost, at this point, a little faster than animal-based, so I think the
migration may continue in that direction.
Earlier this year, Tyson invested in clean meat company Memphis Meats.
This was the second time a major meat producer backed the company. The first
was Cargill, which made history in 2017 with its landmark investment. Memphis Meats is known
for creating real beef burgers without cows and the world’s first chicken and duck meat without animal
slaughter.
The meat industry can no longer ignore the
wave of people dropping animal products in favor of a healthy, sustainable, and
compassionate vegan diet. According to GlobalData, there were six times as many vegans in America in 2017 as in 2014,
and Allied Market Research predicts that the meat substitute market will grow 8.4 percent from 2015,
potentially reaching $5.2 billion globally by 2020.
More people enjoying vegan food is great news
for the billions of animals who suffer at factory farms.
Cows, pigs, chickens, and fish raised and killed for food are subjected to
unthinkable cruelties: tiny, filthy cages; horrific mutilations; and violent
slaughter.
Sounds terrible, right? See for yourself.
With more and more delicious vegan products
hitting the market, there’s truly never been a better time to make the switch
to a compassionate vegan lifestyle. Order your FREE Vegetarian Starter Guide to learn how. And
check out our Pinterest page for thousands of recipe ideas!