Podcast Episode 18: Revolutionizing Protein: Ethan Brown’s Vision for a Sustainable World
We sat down with Ethan Brown, CEO and President of Beyond Meat, to discuss how his father’s question— ‘What do you think the biggest problem in the world is?’—set him on a path to tackle climate change through innovation in food.
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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, Target, 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, Pizza Hut, KFC, Taco Bell, Carl’s Jr., and A&W Canada.
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 Fortune’s Change the World 2024 honorees, The Independent’s Climate 100 for 2024, Newsweek’s Most Trusted Brands in 2023, TIME100 Most Influential Companies in 2021 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.
