Alum’s Products Offer Chicken, Beef Alternatives
by Karen Shih ’09
If Ethan Brown M.P.M. ’97 gets his way, you’ll be eating plant-based burgers at McDonald’s in the next decade—and you won’t notice the difference.
He founded Beyond Meat in 2009, producing chicken strips, beef crumbles and a “Beast Burger” so meatlike that they’ve won over New York Times’ food columnist Mark Bittman, the Food Network’s Alton Brown and even investor and Microsoft founder Bill Gates, who was sure there were animal proteins mixed in. Available at 7,000 stores across the country, including Target, Safeway and Whole Foods, the products are also making their way into restaurants and fast-casual chains like Which Wich.
His ambition is to allow people to eat what they love, but not feel like they’re hurting their health, the Earth or animals. And he’s ambitious on how he’ll make that happen.
“I’m totally focused on the meat industry and what inroads I can make there,” says Brown. “I pay no attention” to the vegan or vegetarian brands that would seem to be the company’s natural competitors.
Beyond Meat’s secret: They break down meat to its basic structure: amino acids, lipids, carbohydrates, minerals and water. “We can rebuild them directly from plants because none of those things are exclusive to animals,” Brown says.
He worked with scientists from the University of Missouri and University of Maryland to develop his initial products, earning two grants from the state through the Maryland Industrial Partnerships program.
Former UMD Professor Martin Lo, who now owns his own company, helped improved the mouth feel, taste and flavor.
“The first generation of the product was like a broken tire torn apart,” says Lo. “We were able to successfully tenderize the rubbery material and make it more like pulled chicken.”
That Brown would to turn to UMD for expertise was no surprise. His father Peter’s drive and vision spurred the founding of the School of Public Policy when it was established in 1981, as well as the later establishment of the environmental specialization track.
“I remember coming to the UMD campus with my dad and sticking my hand in a cow,” says Brown, a lifelong animal lover who thought he might become a veterinarian.
But instead, after college, he spent a decade working in clean energy and fuel cells. Eventually, the dichotomy between a daytime meeting to eke out just one percent more efficiency from a light bulb and an after-work hangout at a steakhouse drove him to come up with his own way to help save the planet (and create something delicious to eat for himself, a vegan).
After some early struggles, such as when he was unable to unload a shipment from the Port of Baltimore because he ran out of money, investment from Kleiner Perkins (which brought in people like Gates) and a partnership with Whole Foods Market put Beyond Meat on a path to success.
“We’re always on the lookout for new, innovative products,” says Mid-Atlantic Culinary Coordinator Alan Morgan, who uses Beyond Meat’s “beef” in Whole Foods’ Espresso Beer Chili and Vegan American Chop Suey. The crumbles and the Beast burger both have more protein than a comparable amount of beef, and the burger has a “muscle recovery blend” mix of antioxidants, omegas (more than in salmon) and vitamins.
But Brown’s not satisfied yet.
“When the horse-drawn carriage was replaced by the automobile, people weren’t giving up a luxury, they were getting something that’s better. With the gas lamp and the electric light, or the land line and the cell phone, it’s the same thing,” he says.
“People ask me if my product is perfect, and I’ll absolutely say, ‘No, it continues to need work,’” he says. “Just like technology companies introduce new versions every year, we’re constantly improving our products.”

10 Comments
Awesome! I hope to taste some of this “meat” soon!
I’m frequently amused at how vegans are supposed to be about getting back to nature and yet are willing to eat “food” that’s been 100% artificially produced. I’m not a vegetarian but am into natural foods, so I would never touch this stuff.
Phillip, I think people become vegetarian/vegan for many different reasons: health, natural food, dislike of meat, ethical reasons, religion, because their parents were, etc. My mom was vegetarian and ate mostly junk. My dad is a whole foods-no fat vegan, and probably couldn’t eat these products. I’m vegetarian and try to eat mostly healthy food. Some of the imitation meats are junk, and some are made from healthy ingredients. The buyer must read labels and decide. You should not make such blanket statements.
As for Ethan, good going. We use your imitation chicken strips to make “chicken” pot pie, and my youngest son, LOVES it. Good to see a fellow Terp doing well. (class of ’87)
Amen. I’d rather buy real food from sustainable farms. Though I’d be grateful for this ‘meat’ if I was stuck on a spaceship somewhere in a distant galaxy in the future.
Phillip,
Do you only eat raw ingredients or do you add spices, and chop and dice and mix? Saying you won’t eat food that is 100% artificially produced makes no sense. The ingredients in these products are spices, oils, salts, and extracts. Just because you don’t know what it is/ can’t pronounce it doesn’t mean it’s bad.
Don’t let the ingredients fool you – amino acids, carbs, mineral – are all natural foods. The FDA hasn’t got a regulation defining food as ‘natural,’ so unless you eat an entirely raw diet of unwashed vegetation and meats, your food marked ‘natural’ is just expensive processed food the manufacturer wants to call ‘natural.’ http://www.fda.gov/aboutfda/transparency/basics/ucm214868.htm
http://www.forbes.com/sites/henrymiller/2015/07/29/why-organic-agriculture-is-a-colossal-hoax/#38a0d78638e4
Hi Ethan,
Please bring your delicious food to Florida! I saw you on Squawk Box, and Rebecca loved your burger!!! You are wonderful!!! ’74 alum
Thank you Ethan,
For my primarily vegetarian weight loss program, (23 lbs. so far), an occasional Beast burger or Beyond Meat product would be heartily welcome. With gratitude, class of ’84.
To each his own. Some will like this “meat”, some will not. But I’m definitely interested to taste Ethan’s Beast Burger. As with any other food items, one can always read the label first before deciding if they think it will be good for them or not.
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Sounds delish. I would like to try include this on my healthy weight loss diet to see how it will work. Hope you will continue on your product improvement and strive for excellence. Thanks for sharing!