Impossible Foods CEO Says The Plant-Based Sector Became Too ‘Woke And Partisan’

by Bonamia_

27 Comments

  1. Bonamia_

    I’ve been eating their products for years. It’s news to me that ‘I’m woke’ because of it.

    This seems like an incredibly stupid thing to say about your product. I mean, all he’s done is MAKE IT political, partisan and controversial. It was just food before.

    Honestly, I’m really disappointed and feel much less inclined to buy their product now.

  2. Curious his general belief of the purpose of Impossible.

    This seems right and it’s why Impossible was made as an alternative in the first place

    “If you want to use less water, and have less GHG emissions, and use less land, you don’t target vegans, obviously,” McGuinness said. “You have to target meat eaters and get them to try your product, but you don’t get them to try your product by insulting them.”

    I think from a business perspective he is probably right, doing things just for the climate crisis is sadly a limited market, but then I’m unsure what he thinks the market is.

  3. master_bacon

    This is the guy whose stated goal when he started was to “put all meat companies out of business forever.”

    He’s just walking it back and pandering now that cultural winds are shifting.

    In other words he’s a wishy-washy coward.

  4. realfakerolex

    i automatically distrust anyone who uses the word “woke”. only right wing boomers say that shit.

  5. thespaniardsteve

    It’s cringe as hell. But if this media strategy gets more right wingers to eat more plant-based foods, I think it’s still a win for the planet. 

  6. He would just like to make more money now, and appealing to the maga brand seems like the logical choice

  7. royaltheman

    Torpedo your entire customer base in one sentence

  8. tendeuchen

    I prefer Beyond Burgers or Morningstar stuff.

  9. largececelia

    Shocking that vegetarians tend to be liberal, just mind blowing.

  10. octarine_turtle

    Does he really not understand that meat alternatives are anathema to the crowd he is now trying to appease with these comments?

  11. ToniBee63

    My whole problem with these foods was their insistence on putting them in the meat department. Like, someone looking to buy a package of ground beef wasn’t going to look over, see the doubly priced package of Impossible and choose it instead. But fuck him, I don’t need his over priced climate change denying fake meat.

  12. This sounds like a marketing ploy to get a certain demographic onboard with plant-based foods.

  13. peakerforlife

    Fuck that! There are plenty of other plant based brands I can buy, and this asshole doesn’t deserve my woke money.

  14. GrowlingAtTheWorld

    So he did no research into the demographics his product would appeal to?

  15. Burnttoastdamn

    This is an odd thing to say. I guess he must really feel that way. Who is this even for? People who would like this kind of bashing just aren’t eating meat alternatives so he’s attacking his brand’s consumers for no benefit.

  16. TheRastaBanana

    I’m not a left leaning person and I have never in my life thought of plant based food politically.

    If anything, it’s the right that paint it all as “bio-engineered poison” who are doing that.

  17. The “non woke” meat eaters are the same people who flipped the fuck out when Cracker Barrel started offering vegetarian sausage on their menu. Note that they didn’t remove the real sausage or take away any options for people who eat meat. These people freaked out because it didn’t belong and they didn’t like it, even though it wasn’t for them and they didn’t have to eat it.

    CEO dude can say and do whatever he wants, but that type of person is most likely never going to try an Impossible product. They’re just not.

  18. ButterMyPancakesPlz

    Environmental responsibility, science based health consciousness, ethical treatment of animals -not really things that are gonna get MAGA foaming at the mouth. They were never gonna be the market and never will.

  19. Admirable_Tear_1438

    “Anti-woke” means “Pro-Bigotry”.

  20. clone0112

    Yeah I’m pretty sure it has nothing to do with the price. Dude is disconnected and probably doesn’t get many people to challenge his ideas.

  21. Their market has always been meat eaters. The goal was to replace meat, not be what prior who won’t eat meat choose. (Red and bleeding?? It was never for us)

    I always figured they were in it for the long game, when the climate could no longer sustain the inefficiency of growing meat on the hoof. 

  22. Loveonethe-brain

    It’s so weird how many health and environmental people go down alt right pipelines when by all accounts it doesn’t make sense. The reason the environment is the state it’s in is because of climate change deniers partially and capitalism and colonialism mostly. Same reason why healthy foods aren’t readily available. Being vegetarian is woke and I’m proud of that.

  23. jennixred

    Never mind the fact that these burgers cost the same or more than actual meat. There’s no reason for that

  24. I mean, it kinda makes sense. He wants everyone to shift to plant based food, not only vegetarians and vegans

  25. Fractured_Senada

    What a loser. I just wrote to them. He needs to keep his garbage opinions out of the food. The entire point of the product is to be woke to the unethical animal farming practices. People who eat meat WILL NOT eat your products because they are fine with eating meat. Not calling it meat and then marketing it as macho will alienate the customers you do have and win you very little, idiot.