This WSJ article, “Vegans’ Bullheaded Beef With Tyson Foods”, outlines a point of view about the recent 5% investment Tyson Food made in start-up Beyond Meat (a plant-based food product company). Many vegans denounced the investment, and said they would no longer support these products. However, is the deal – perhaps one that can help this company expand into new markets – all that bad?
While the writer of this article is an investor, and as such as a vested interest, I do believe the points made in this commentary are sound.
While I personally wish it was a different company that invested in Beyond Meat (Tyson practices are inexcusable), at the end of the day this will expose more people to plant-based eating. Greater exposure to a mainstream audience can ultimately reduce the amount of animal product being consumed. The plant-based dieters and vegans are faced with so much myth and misunderstanding about the way we eat, and the options out there often don’t get exposed to those eating a standard American diet. Standard restaurants have ridiculously few options for us to eat, and non-specialty grocery stores are still loaded with animal product.
I really think exposure and education is key, and a burger (or whatever) being on the shelf or on a menu where people already are is the best way to do this. So while it sucks it’s a company that engages in horrible practices, so do many large corporate investor options. And if it ends up leading more people away from eating animals, I think that’s a key takeaway.
What do you think? Let us know in the comments.
Last updated: October 25, 2016. Originally published: October 25, 2016.
Public domain photo, source.
