BEYOND MEAT® ESTABLISHES GROUNDBREAKING PLANT-BASED DIET INITIATIVE AT THE STANFORD UNIVERSITY SCHOOL OF MEDICINE
The scientific and academic initiative will create a repository of cutting-edge research that will help drive and inform additional breakthrough product innovations to advance human health
EL SEGUNDO, Calif. (April, 27, 2021) -- Beyond Meat, Inc. (NASDAQ: BYND), a leader in plant-based meat, today announced the establishment of a pioneering Plant-Based Diet Initiative at the Stanford University School of Medicine. The five-year endeavor is designed to provide peer-reviewed, clinically-significant studies on the health implications of a plant-based diet, including plant-based meat, and will help to generate data to drive and inform Beyond Meat’s research and development.
As a preeminent leader in plant-based innovation for human health, Beyond Meat’s commitment to using only simple, plant-based ingredients without GMOs or bioengineered ingredients has set the industry standard for better-for-you plant-based meat products. The comprehensive research program will be spearheaded by Stanford scientists and doctors who will gather research from a variety of interdisciplinary fields and convene symposia and colloquia with the aim of advancing a more nutritious and environmentally sustainable food system.
The Plant-Based Diet Initiative will sustain a variety of programs including:
- Exploring how plant-based meat and diets can have a positive health impact, including on the reduction of risk factors for chronic diseases like heart disease, diabetes and cancer
- Unearthing new plant proteins and ingredients to help inform game-changing product development
- Producing an overarching repository of globally accessible resources and data on the health impacts of plant-based proteins
Through the Stanford School of Medicine’s SWAP-MEAT study which was published in The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition in August 2020, researchers evaluated the impact of replacing animal-based meat with Beyond Meat’s plant-based meats over an 8-week period on cholesterol levels (including LDL), heart disease risk factors including TMAO levels, and body weight, and found improvement in key health metrics when participants replaced animal-based meat with Beyond Meat’s plant-based meat. In terms of sustainability, the University of Michigan in 2018 clearly demonstrated that producing the original Beyond Burger® had 99% less impact on water scarcity, 93% less impact on land use, required 46% less energy and generated 90% fewer greenhouse gas emissions when compared to producing a ¼ lb. standard 80/20 beef burger. The five-year Plant-Based Diet Initiative is designed to provide substantive scientific and academic research to further maximize the intersection of human and environmental health.
This initiative complements Beyond Meat’s existing work to foster a healthier society through The Partnership For A Healthier America, which aims to increase healthy choices for America’s youth, and the Social Change Fund, which fights disparities in the Black community.
About Beyond Meat
Beyond Meat, Inc. (NASDAQ: BYND) is one of the fastest growing food companies in the United States, offering a portfolio of revolutionary plant-based meats made from simple ingredients without GMOs, bioengineered ingredients, hormones, antibiotics, or cholesterol. Founded in 2009, Beyond Meat products are designed to have the same taste and texture as animal-based meat while being better for people and the planet. Beyond Meat’s brand commitment, Eat What You Love™, represents a strong belief that there is a better way to feed our future and that the positive choices we all make, no matter how small, can have a great impact on our personal health and the health of our planet. By shifting from animal-based meat to plant-based meat, we can positively impact four growing global issues: human health, climate change, constraints on natural resources and animal welfare. As of December 31, 2020, Beyond Meat had products available at approximately 122,000 retail and foodservice outlets in over 80 countries worldwide. Visit www.BeyondMeat.com and follow @BeyondMeat, #BeyondBurger and #GoBeyond on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter and @BeyondMeatOfficial on TikTok.
Forward-Looking Statements
Certain statements in this release constitute “forward-looking statements.” These statements are based on management’s current opinions, expectations, beliefs, plans, objectives, assumptions or projections regarding future events or future results. These forward-looking statements are only predictions, not historical fact, and involve certain risks and uncertainties, as well as assumptions. Actual results, levels of activity, performance, achievements and events could differ materially from those stated, anticipated or implied by such forward-looking statements. While Beyond Meat believes that its assumptions are reasonable, it is very difficult to predict the impact of known factors, and, of course, it is impossible to anticipate all factors that could affect actual results. There are many risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from forward-looking statements made herein including, most prominently, the risks discussed under the heading “Risk Factors” in the Company’s Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2020 filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) on March 1, 2021 as well as other factors described from time to time in Beyond Meat’s filings with the SEC. Such forward-looking statements are made only as of the date of this release. Beyond Meat undertakes no obligation to publicly update or revise any forward-looking statement because of new information, future events or otherwise, except as otherwise required by law. If we do update one or more forward-looking statements, no inference should be made that we will make additional updates with respect to those or other forward-looking statements.
Media Contact
Shira Zackai
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