Can One Article Take Down The Plant-Based Meat Industry?

Businessweek's "big take" cover story was about how plant based meat may be turning into a "flop." The story ignited a firestorm of debate online, angry responses from plant-based meat manufacturers and more than a little confusion from meat-eaters and vegetarians alike. Will this one-sided expose of the down-side of fake meat become a nail in the coffin of the multi-billion dollar plant-based meat industry?

The meat industry has a clear financial motivation to discredit plant-based meat. At the same time, the hard-to-pronounce ingredient list and highly processed nature of fake meat make it an easy target for criticism from advocates of healthy eating who argue it shouldn't really be classified as a "healthy" food option. When you add the rise of companies like Upside Foods that are researching new ways to produce lab-grown "real" meat, the future for plant-based meat doesn't look easy.