Let's Get Real: Real Meat is Here to Stay

It's time to push past the fakes and the sensationalized headlines to focus on what shoppers actually crave-real, quality meat.

Let's face it-the media often portrays the meat industry as doomed, from the imitation meat products that are now under the magnifying glass to some meat industry players being called out for their bad habits.

But here's the good (and real) news: consumption numbers don't match the headlines. 

The average American still consumes around 274 pounds of meat per year, and according to multiple consumer surveys, shoppers are buying more meat - real, quality meat, that is!

Our mission, Changing The Meat We Eat^®, is not just a rallying cry; it's our promise to show that real, quality meat can be better for people, planet, and animals. 

How do we do it? By constantly pushing ourselves­ and therefore the entire industry-to be better, by addressing shoppers' concerns head-on, and by exceeding expectations.

• Health Concerns: Raising our animals right-without antibiotics-is the first step to producing better meat. Using clean, simple ingredients in our products is another, so we can offer options that match certain individuals' dietary (top 9 allergens, gluten-free) and lifestyle (Whole30, paleo, keto, high protein, carb conscious) needs.
• Animal Welfare Concerns: The Applegate Humanely Raised standard ensures that animals are raised and handled in ways that we believe line up with our mission and truly honor the five freedoms for humane treatment. All farms we source from meet third-party certified animal welfare standards, and our team of experts are committed to visiting and inspecting farms to ensure compliance.

• Environmental Concerns: It's fashionable to argue that the only way to fight climate change is to eliminate meat. In fact, the opposite is true. Animals have a vital role to play in restoring soil health, sequestering carbon and safeguarding the land against drought, wildfires, erosion, and other devastating results of climate change. Our mission is to scale regenerative practices beyond small farms and niche markets to make a real impact!

The mountains are high, but every step forward counts. Applegate is committed to bringing together the best minds, partners, and teammates to relentlessly and intelligently question the status quo and continue resetting standards for the industry. We are changemakers that unite through our mission and make change possible. It starts with us, and together we truly can fulfill our promise: Changing The Meat We Eat ^® .

¹ https://www.meatinstitute.org/index.php?ht=d/sp/i/47465/pid/47465
² https://www.plantbasedfoods.org/2021-u-s-retail-sales-data-for-the-plant-based-foods-industry/
³ https://www.ipsos.com/en-us/news-polls/nearly-nine-ten-americans-consume-meat-part-their-diet
⁴ https://www.marketsandmarkets.com/market-reports/regenerative-agricullure-market-52420159.html
⁵ https://www.marketsandmarkets.com/Market-Reports/regenerative-agricullure-market-52420159.html
⁶ According to the Savory Institute, Hickory Nut Gap and SunFed Ranch