Meat, But Not Really
These days, some of us humans are constantly looking for ways to help the environment, from using alternative transportation to reducing the amount of plastic we use. We as investors can also be environmentally friendly by investing in companies that we believe benefit the health of the Earth. However, there is another thing we can do to reduce our carbon footprint. It’s simple; let’s change what we eat.
No, I am not telling you to become a vegan here. The real change is replacing animal meat to plant-based meat. Once again, those aren’t your loathsome veggie burgers. Our human friends, with many years of innovation, have concocted plant-based meat. As they say it themselves, it tastes exactly the same but contains no meat. Well, that part is subjective, but you get the point. These companies wanted to take an environmental stance and started to research on how they could make it perfectly align. From the taste, texture, nutrition, and even grilling ability, the goal is to make the transition as seamless as possible.
You may be asking, what is wrong with just eating regular meat instead of this plant stuff? The main problem is how inefficient it is. A normal human being still gets most of their energy and nutrition from plants, but with the popularity of meat, more land is being used to raise cattle. This isn’t exactly the best thing; billionaire Bill Gates said that cattle and livestock make up for 9 percent of the Earth’s emissions, which is a huge number. It gets worse; we’ve witnessed the intentional burning of the Amazon to raise cattle, which has led to even more carbon emissions. With deforestation on the rise solely due to these cattle, the alternative comes in and saves the Earth in a big way.
How exactly does this apply to stocks? Plant-based meat has become a common topic in the markets. I’m sure you’ve heard of Beyond Meat and Impossible Foods, the biggest players in the industry. Beyond Meat is public, and Impossible is planning to go public in the future. What do you think? Will you be buying into plant-based meat?
I am not a financial advisor and my comments should never be taken as financial advice. Investments come with risk, so always do your research and analysis beforehand.
