Beyond Meat is one of the most popular plant-based meat alternative brands. The brand describes their products as "packed with flavor, not cholesterol" and claims that meat made from plants is the "better-for-you option."

But is plant-based meat actually healthier than regular meat? Does Beyond Meat contain any unhealthy ingredients? Why was one of the company's executives arrested? And what was our honest experience purchasing and testing it?

In this article we'll answer all of these questions and more, as we analyze the ingredients in Beyond Burger and Beyond Breakfast Sausage to give our take on whether or not the brand is healthy.

We'll also share our experience purchasing and testing Beyond Meat, review research studies on plant-based meat to compare its healthiness to animal meat, and highlight some bad press the company has received (including details about an alleged executive-involved assault).

Key takeaways:

• Contains "processed" ingredients we consider unhealthy
• We tried it and absolutely hated the taste
• We do not currently recommend Beyond Meat

Beyond Burger Review

The ingredients in Beyond Burger are shown below:

image source: https://www.beyondmeat.com/

Pea protein is the primary protein source, and an excellent choice for vegan protein since it’s a complete protein containing all essential amino acids.

A clinical trial published in the Sports journal found that pea protein was just as effective as whey protein in promoting strength and muscular improvements in response to exercise.

Methylcellulose is used as a thickening agent, but is also clinically shown to be a laxative at doses as low as 1 gram (g). 

We find this to be a strange ingredient choice.

Natural flavors is an ingredient that health-conscious consumers may wish to avoid.

As we referenced in our LMNT review article, some natural flavoring compounds have been shown in research studies to be potentially toxic.

Potassium chloride and vitamin B12 are included in a synthetic vitamin and mineral blend.

We generally avoid "processed" food products with added synthetic nutrients. 

Overall, we consider Beyond Burger to be unhealthy due to the inclusion of so many "processed" and unnatural ingredients.

We Tested Beyond Meat

As one of the authors of this article (Calloway), I wanted to try Beyond Meat myself to share my thoughts on its taste and the overall product experience:

It was difficult to tell when the "meat" was done cooking, since its color can't be used as an indicator.

The product label says to cook each side for four minutes on a skillet, but the patties didn't seem done after that so I cooked them a little bit longer.

Both the texture and the taste are absolutely horrible in my opinion. The texture is stringy and not nearly as dense as meat. It does not taste like meat at all to me, but rather like old tofu blended with tamari.

I am not a vegan. I eat grass-fed red meat occasionally, and when I do I feel like I'm eating a nutritious, whole food meal. This felt to me like some bioengineered garbage but perhaps that's a placebo effect.

I tried one of these patties alone to study its taste, and then ate the other in a bowl mixed with other ingredients like rice, veggies and hot sauce.

The bad taste was so overpowering that it made the whole bowl taste bad even when it was just a small portion.

I would never purchase this product again, even if I were a vegan. 

I rate this product 1/10.

Is Plant-Based Meat Healthier?

There's a significant amount of debate online about the healthiness of plant-based meats, so we'll give our take based on a review of clinical research.

Plant or animal products aren't inherently healthier than one another in our opinion; it depends on the specific type of food. 

We know from extensive medical research that processed meat intake (especially processed meat intake from conventionally-raised animals) is associated with an increased risk of overall mortality, cardiovascular disease and some types of cancer.

We consider plant-based meat alternatives like Beyond Sausage to be healthier than processed meat sourced from conventionally-raised animals.

But unprocessed meat sourced from pastured animals is some of the most nutrient-dense food available, including "health-promoting phytonutrients" like antioxidants according to a medical review published in the Frontiers in Sustainable Food Systems journal.

We consider unprocessed, pastured meat eaten in moderation to be healthier than processed plant-based alternatives like Beyond Burger.

A medical review published in the Nutrients journal examined whether plant-based meat alternatives were healthy or not, and concluded that "Due to the high degree of processing of the foods studied here, they can nevertheless not be recommended for the daily diet."

There isn't enough research in our opinion to state that plant-based meat is healthier than meat, and our general position is that the minimal processing of the diet is the most important factor for health and wellness.

Bad Press for Beyond Meat

Beyond Meat was in the news for all of the wrong reasons in 2022. 

In September, one of the company's executives was arrested for allegedly assaulting someone, biting their nose and making terroristic threats according to NPR.

He has since pleaded not guilty.

Then in November, a Bloomberg report found mold and unsanitary conditions at one of the company's production facilities, as well as internal documents showing that Beyond Meat products tested positive for a pathogenic bacteria called listeria 11 different times.

The report is behind a paywall, but here's a Gizmodo YouTube video breaking it down that shows some of the images from the facility:

Beyond Breakfast Sausage Review

The ingredients in Beyond Breakfast Sausage are shown below:

image source: https://www.beyondmeat.com/

This is a nearly identical ingredient list to Beyond Burger.

There are no ingredients of note that differ.

Pea protein is still used as the base vegan protein, while the questionable additives methylcellulose, natural flavors and the vitamin and mineral blend remain.

We consider Beyond Breakfast Sausage to be unhealthy due to these additive ingredients.

Beyond Meat Pros and Cons

Here are the pros and cons of Beyond Meat in our opinion:

Pros:

• Potentially healthier than processed meat
• Pea protein is a complete protein
• No acutely dangerous/harmful ingredients

Cons:

• Contains methylcellulose
• Contains natural flavors
• Contains synthetic vitamin & mineral blend
• We tried it and absolutely hated the taste
• We tried it and absolutely hated the texture
• Pasture-raised, unprocessed meat is healthier

Conclusion

Beyond Meat makes decent plant-based meat alternatives and their replacements for processed meat like sausage may be healthier than the real thing.

We don't currently recommend any Beyond Meat products due to the additive ingredients.

We purchased and tested a Beyond Meat product and thought it tasted atrociously bad.

We haven't come across any convincing evidence that plant-based meat alternatives are healthier than unprocessed meat sourced from pasture-raised animals.

We consider plant-based meat alternatives to be healthier than processed meat like breakfast sausages, but we consider unprocessed meat like ground beef sourced from pastured animals to be healthier than processed vegan meat alternatives.

For consumers seeking vegan options for ethical reasons, products like bean burgers may be a healthier (and tastier) choice.