[{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org\/","@type":"BlogPosting","@id":"https:\/\/www.the-future-of-commerce.com\/2020\/04\/30\/meat-industry-covid-19\/#BlogPosting","mainEntityOfPage":"https:\/\/www.the-future-of-commerce.com\/2020\/04\/30\/meat-industry-covid-19\/","headline":"Fake meat, real profit: As meat industry falters, alternatives surge","name":"Fake meat, real profit: As meat industry falters, alternatives surge","description":"While the meat industry faces a looming disaster in the wake of COVID-19, fake meat brands are seeing a dramatic surge in business. ","datePublished":"2020-04-30","dateModified":"2025-05-06","author":{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.the-future-of-commerce.com\/contributor\/marcia-yusavage\/#Person","name":"Marcia Yusavage","url":"https:\/\/www.the-future-of-commerce.com\/contributor\/marcia-yusavage\/","identifier":298,"image":{"@type":"ImageObject","@id":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/f9929f6ff16e34cd6d43daf18411658f8565960b4c0fd78662963005f1aa9afb?s=96&d=mm&r=g","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/f9929f6ff16e34cd6d43daf18411658f8565960b4c0fd78662963005f1aa9afb?s=96&d=mm&r=g","height":96,"width":96}},"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"The Future of Commerce","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","@id":"https:\/\/www.the-future-of-commerce.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/01\/logo-foc-schema-app-1.png","url":"https:\/\/www.the-future-of-commerce.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/01\/logo-foc-schema-app-1.png","width":172,"height":60}},"image":{"@type":"ImageObject","@id":"https:\/\/www.the-future-of-commerce.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/meat-industry-covid-19.jpg","url":"https:\/\/www.the-future-of-commerce.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/meat-industry-covid-19.jpg","height":375,"width":1200},"url":"https:\/\/www.the-future-of-commerce.com\/2020\/04\/30\/meat-industry-covid-19\/","about":["Agribusiness","COVID-19 and Business","Future of Grocery Retail","Future of Supply Chain","Retail Trends, Data, News","Wholesale Distribution"],"wordCount":837,"articleBody":"For those who have contemplated becoming vegetarian, COVID-19 and its devastating impact on the meat industry and food supply chain could crush any lingering reservations. In fact, their options may be dwindling.As the COVID-19 pandemic continues to wreak havoc on all facets of the food supply chain, more meat processing plants with sick workers in North America have closed, leading company executives to warn of meat shortages.Farmers who have nowhere to process their livestock have begun euthanizing millions of farm animals.This content is hosted by a third party ( twitter.com ).To view the content, either update your cookie preferences or view it in a new browser window.Cookie PreferencesNew WindowIn the wake of this dark turn of events, vegetarianism looks increasingly preferable with plant-based protein products a palatable alternative. Fake meat brands like Impossible Foods and Beyond Meats that were already gaining traction before the pandemic are seeing an uptick.      No, really, you can’t ignore it forever: COVID-19 update                Within hours of the first presidential debate, Americans began searching "how to apply for Canadian citizenship" and "how to move to New Zealand" - taking them from a previous "zero" ranking to 100, the highest score attributable by Google Trends.      Meat industry: Supply chain unravelsAccording to estimates released Tuesday by the United Food and Commercial Workers International Union, 22 meatpacking plants have closed in the past two months.The virus has impacted 6,500 meatpacking and food processing workers and 20 workers have died, the UFCW said. The plant closures prompted Tyson Foods Chairman John H. Tyson to issue a warning.\u201cIn addition to meat shortages, this is a serious food waste issue. Farmers across the nation simply will not have anywhere to sell their livestock to be processed, when they could have fed the nation. Millions of animals \u2013 chickens, pigs and cattle \u2013 will be depopulated because of the closure of our processing facilities. The food supply chain is breaking.\u201dPresident Donald Trump this week used the Defense Production Act to order meat processing plants to remain open, and declare them critical infrastructure, but it\u2019s questionable whether workers will show up.Even if plants resume operations and meat remains plentiful in grocery stores, vegetarianism looks increasingly preferable when confronted with the realities of industrial farming amid the pandemic.Bloomberg reported that farmers are killing newborn pigs and their mothers, and injecting pregnant sows to cause them to abort their babies. A poultry company said it planned to slaughter 2 million chickens in Delaware and Maryland because of a lack of employees at chicken processing plants.Before the pandemic, factory farming has increasingly come under fire for inhumane treatment of animals, damaging the environment, its treatment of workers, and a long list of other negative impacts.      Digital transformation in the food industry: Trends, examples, and benefits                Digital transformation in food industry has accelerated as food companies aim to become more efficient and resilient.      Fake meat brands surgeWarnings about potential meat shortages have sent Beyond Meat\u2019s stock soaring, according to CNN Business. The company also is getting a lift from a new partnership with Starbucks to sell its plant-based products in China.Beyond Meat rival Impossible Foods also has recently expanded its market reach, including selling in 777 additional grocery stores in California, Nevada, and the Chicago area. It also announced that it will sell its patties directly to consumers through food wholesaler Cheetah.For companies like Impossible Foods, expanding into retail outlets is key since its primary market had been restaurants, which have been devastated by COVID-19.One report cited data showing that sales of meat alternatives surged in March. FoodNavigator-USA also reported that other plant-based \u201cmeat\u201d companies such as Tofurky are seeing increased sales during the pandemic.Plant-based protein companies have touted their production processes as inherently safer than animal-based meat, something that more consumers may consider in light of COVID-19.Experts cite the risk of infectious disease transmitted from animals to humans. Some reports have linked COVID-19 to \u201cwet markets\u201d selling live animals for food in China, and activists are seizing on the possible connection to highlight their view of factory farming.This content is hosted by a third party ( twitter.com ).To view the content, either update your cookie preferences or view it in a new browser window.Cookie PreferencesNew WindowOf course, whether COVID-19 alters how people view factory farming and leads to long-term increased consumption of fake meat products and more people switching to vegetarianism or veganism remains to be seen.      Food and beverage industry during COVID-19: 4 survival strategies\u00a0                Bent, not broken: The food and beverage industry during COVID-19 has been stressed beyond belief, but there are ways to come out stronger.      As with everything, the pandemic has thrown the food supply into a deep well of uncertainty. However, I know that I\u2019m going to be looking more closely at my protein options.  Tariffs. Supply chains.Customer expectations. C-suite expectations. Everything you need for retail success, none of the fluff.Download the market analysis\u00a0HERE."},{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org\/","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"2020","item":"https:\/\/www.the-future-of-commerce.com\/2020\/#breadcrumbitem"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"04","item":"https:\/\/www.the-future-of-commerce.com\/2020\/\/04\/#breadcrumbitem"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"name":"30","item":"https:\/\/www.the-future-of-commerce.com\/2020\/\/04\/\/30\/#breadcrumbitem"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":4,"name":"Fake meat, real profit: As meat industry falters, alternatives surge","item":"https:\/\/www.the-future-of-commerce.com\/2020\/04\/30\/meat-industry-covid-19\/#breadcrumbitem"}]}]