Beyond Meat

Two food pioneers—Impossible Foods (No. 51) and Beyond Meat (No. 52)—are persuading fast-food fans to eat plant-based meat substitutes. An Impossible Foods burger uses 87% less water than a traditional beef burger. A burger from Beyond Meat—made of pea, mung bean, and brown rice proteins—requires 93% less land. If even a tenth of the world's meat-eating population replaced its burger consumption with these plant-based options, the impact on the environment could be monumental. These two companies' meatless products aren't catchall sustainability solutions; nearly any ingredient produced at scale will have some negative effect on the environment, notes Cliodhnagh Conlon, a sustainability consultant with firm BSR. But with plant-based products from Beyond Meat—which reported $87.9 million in net revenue in 2018 and expects to exceed $240 million in 2019—already in Tim Hortons, Dunkin', and TGI Fridays; Impossible Foods' product in Applebee's and White Castle; and competitors like Tyson introducing their own copycats, it's a promising start.