Beyond Meat - 1792 Exchange

Rating Overview

Beyond Meat is Medium Risk.

Beyond Meat Inc. often yields to political activism in shaping corporate governance, potentially alienating consumers, dividing employees, and harming shareholders. The company implements race and identity-based policies that replace merit, excellence, and integrity with preferential treatment and outcomes. Beyond Meat occasionally embraces corporate initiatives that redirect its central focus from business goals to partisan policies and divisive issues at times. This approach fails to safeguard free exercise, free speech, and free enterprise.

Rating Criteria

Corporate Weaponization Risk Levels
Criteria	Risk Level
Cancellations	Medium Risk
Discriminatory Philanthropy	Lower Risk
Employment Protection	High Risk

Corporate Weaponization ⓘ

Corporate Governance and Public Policy Risk Levels
Criteria	Risk Level
Advocacy Bias	High Risk
Funding	Lower Risk
Political Actions	No Data

Corporate Governance and Public Policy ⓘ

Rating Criteria Detail

Criteria Risk Level Rationale

Corporate Weaponization

Criteria:

Has canceled customers, suppliers, or vendors due to their political views or religious beliefs OR corporately boycotts, divests, or sanctions regions, people groups, or industries.

Risk Level:

Medium

Rationale:

Beyond Meat integrates ESG into its business practices. The company vets vendors according to ESG policies and said “ESG is an inherent part of who we are and what we do” (1)(2). However, the company has not publicly canceled customers, suppliers, or vendors based on political views or religious beliefs (3).

Criteria:

Charitable giving (including employee matching programs) policies or practices discriminate against charitable organizations based on views or religious beliefs.

Risk Level:

Lower

Rationale:

Beyond Meat does not appear to discriminate against charitable organizations based on views or beliefs. Its Feed A Million+ pledge focuses on donating to food banks across the country (1).

Criteria:

Employment policies fail to protect against viewpoint or other discrimination and/or are ideological in nature.

Risk Level:

High

Rationale:

Beyond Meat also implements unconscious bias training for its managers (1). The company appears to prioritize diversity over merit in its leadership composition. From its 2023 ESG Report: “Our corporate governance guidelines recommend that board members be selected on the basis of a number of factors, including diversity with respect to gender, race, ethnicity, differences in professional background, experience at policy-making levels in business, finance, and other areas, education, skill, and other individual qualities and attributes in light of the specific needs of the board of directors at that time” (2). Beyond Meat does not provide viewpoint protections for its employees (3).

Corporate Governance and Public Policy

Criteria:

Uses corporate reputation to support causes, organizations, or policies hostile to freedom of expression.

Risk Level:

High

Rationale:

Beyond Meat’s CEO is a signatory to CEOs for Gun Safety (1). The company supports DEI within its business practices. From its 2023 ESG report: “We believe our workforce should be as diverse as the customers and communities we serve. At Beyond Meat, we aspire to create an equitable and inclusive work environment by celebrating the merit born from unique backgrounds, life experience, cultural heritage, and diversity of though” (2). However, in 2024, the company removed DEI language from its Corporate Responsibility/ESG report. To date, the company has not publicly addressed this change, leaving shareholders without clarity regarding the company’s reasoning or future direction (3). Beyond Met also supports ESG within its business practices. From its 2024 Corporate responsibility report: “Having a robust governance structure that prioritizes environmental, social, and governance (ESG) topics empowers us to put into action our mission to shift the world from animal- to plant-based meat” (4).

Criteria:

Uses corporate funds to advance ideological causes, organizations, or policies hostile to freedom of expression.

Risk Level:

Lower

Rationale:

Beyond Meat has not used corporate funds to advance ideological causes, organizations, or policies (1).

Criteria:

Uses corporate political actions and/or financial contributions for ideological, non-business purposes.

Risk Level:

N/A

Rationale:

Beyond Meat does not operate a PAC at this time and has not reported on its lobbying (1)(2)(3).