Ethan Brown's Fight to Reclaim the Beyond Meat Story

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About the Guest

Ethan Brown is the Founder and Chief Executive Officer of Beyond Meat, a company dedicated to building meat directly from plants. Ethan gained an appreciation for agriculture and the natural world from his father, a professor, conservationist, and hobby farmer. This interest shaped the direction of his career, where he sought to make a contribution to climate change through the clean energy sector.  His early work centered on electricity restructuring in support of an open grid, where his analysis at the gubernatorial level directly informed federal and state policies on grid management. Subsequently, Ethan joined the world’s leading Proton Exchange Membrane (PEM) fuel cell developer Ballard Power Systems, rising to report directly to the Company’s Chief Executive Officer.  

Though passionate about clean energy, Ethan returned often to the role of livestock in our economy and became convinced that a change in the origin of the protein—from animals to plants—that we place at the center of our plates could simultaneously address human health, climate, natural resource, and animal welfare challenges in a unique and powerful way. In 2009, Ethan founded Beyond Meat. The Company’s flagship product, the Beyond Burger, revolutionized the meat aisle by being the first plant-based burger to be sold in the meat case alongside beef at major grocery chains including Kroger, Walmart, and Whole Foods Market. In an effort to further democratize plant-based meat, Beyond Meat has partnered with leading restaurant chains including McDonald’s across Europe.

As part of the company’s efforts to advance human health, Beyond Meat has partnered with the Stanford University School of Medicine and established an agreement with the American Cancer Society to support research on the health and nutritional benefits of plant-based meat. Furthermore, the company has a growing portfolio of products that have been recognized for their strong nutritional credentials by the American Heart Association’s Heart-Check Certification program and the American Diabetes Association’s Better Choices for Life program.    

Beyond Meat is routinely recognized for its brand affinity and leadership position including being named among TIME's World’s Best Brands 2024, Fortune’s Change the World 2024 honorees, The Independent’s Climate 100 for 2024, Newsweek’s Most Trusted Brands in 2023, and a United Nations 2018 Champion of the Earth.  

Ethan holds an MBA from Columbia University and an MPP from the University of Maryland. He is on the board of the American Cancer Society’s CEO’s Against Cancer (LA Chapter) to support their mission to end cancer and address cancer disparities across Los Angeles as well as a member of the 2017 Class of Henry Crown Fellows within the Aspen Global Leadership Network at the Aspen Institute. 

About this episode

Ethan Brown returns to Eat For The Planet after eight years to reflect on what it means to lead a mission-driven public company through hype cycles, media backlash, and shifting consumer narratives. In this candid and timely conversation, he shares what Beyond Meat has learned from being at the center of the plant-based conversation—and how the company is evolving its strategy, its message, and its products.

We discuss the limits of the “frictionless” approach, what part of meat culture Beyond may have underestimated, and why the company is doubling down on storytelling and science with the launch of Planting Change and the reformulation of core products. We also dive into Ethan’s personal leadership journey—from pitching samples out of a carry-on to facing off against billion-dollar incumbents—and why he’s not backing down.

Key Takeaways

  1. Being first came at a cost.
    Beyond Meat became the face of the plant-based movement, but with that visibility came intense scrutiny, backlash, and misunderstanding—much of it disproportionate to its actual market share.

  2. The company is shifting from growth to discipline.
    Ethan emphasized a renewed focus on operational efficiency, profitability, and quality over sheer scale or speed.

  3. Reformulation is strategic, not reactive.
    Products like the new Beyond Burger and Chicken Pieces reflect consumer demands for simpler ingredients without compromising on taste or protein content.

  4. The “frictionless” playbook may no longer be enough.
    Beyond’s early success came from blending in, but Ethan now acknowledges that difference needs to be embraced—and explained—more boldly.

  5. Storytelling is central to systems change.
    The Planting Change film represents a new effort to retake the narrative and educate consumers on the health, climate, and cultural stakes of industrial meat.

  6. Ethan draws strength from history.
    From Albert Schweitzer’s reverence for life to long-view technological disruptions like the fall of the ice trade, Ethan sees Beyond as part of a much longer arc of transformation.

  7. This is a mission, not a moment.
    Despite short-term volatility, Ethan remains committed to the original goal: shifting the protein at the center of the plate and building a food system that respects animals, health, and the planet.