The pendulum swings and trends ebb and flow. Meat may be fashionable for the moment, but anger, misinformation, and pseudoscience all have a limited shelf life. The plant-based brands targeted by Big Meat are fighting against the smear campaigns, shaking the ultra-processed labels, and working to meet demand for clean, clear-label protein.
VEG-NEWS: A planned takedown of plant-based businesses, throngs of tradwife and raw organ-eating influencers, and a new administration fixated on pushing meat to the masses have all laid a path for a new carnivorous culture that’s sweeping the nation. Is this the new normal?…
As part of his Make America Healthy Again initiative, Secretary of Health and Human Services Robert F. Kennedy Jr. is promoting raw milk and beef tallow (the rendered protective fat around cow organs). Texas-based influencer Brian Johnson—known to many as the “Liver King” — built a career and a following of millions to show how a carnivorous diet of raw liver and other organs got him his hulking, shredded physique.
Bella Ma, Juilliard-trained pianist and a former dedicated vegan — and now known as @steakandbuttergal — claims switching to a diet of whole sticks of butter, fatty steaks, and two dozen eggs daily resulted in weight loss, improved mental clarity, and clearing up her eczema and other autoimmune issues. Buoyed by more than a million followers, Ma launched The Steak and Butter Gang, her paid membership group.
Even some of the most beloved plant-based eateries are falling into the clutches of the move toward meat. Los Angeles’ award-winning Sage Plant-Based Bistro upended 13 years of animal-free dining when owner Mollie Englehart announced in 2024 that the eatery would be adding regenerative meat and dairy to its menu (the restaurant ended up closing its doors in early 2025).
In New York, Michelin-starred Eleven Madison Park made headlines when owner Daniel Humm walked back his 2021 decision to shift to a plant-based menu, citing financial pressures and dwindling patrons. It’s like the world has gone mad for meat. How—after years of momentum toward a plant-based lifestyle—did we get here?…
The plant-based brands targeted by Big Meat are fighting against the smear campaigns, shaking the ultra-processed labels, and working to meet demand for clean, clear-label protein. Impossible is focusing on performance, earning a special certification to be served to MLB and NFL athletes as a source of nutritious protein. Beyond is pivoting toward ingredient transparency with its Beyond Test Kitchen initiative and releasing limited-edition, minimally formulated products like Beyond Ground…
The pendulum swings and trends ebb and flow. Meat may be fashionable for the moment, but anger, misinformation, and pseudoscience all have a limited shelf life… Compassion may be the biggest, most valuable tool in the whole vegan message. It’s not only a core tenet; it’s hardwired into being human. We’re made to care about others. ELLEN KANNER
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