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Beyond Meat’s Ethan Brown ’89 Goes Above and Beyond

Beyond Meat founder and CEO Ethan Brown ’89 demonstrated the power of partnership as the COVID-19 pandemic unfolded.

In March, Ethan and Beyond Meat donated a significant amount of the company’s popular plant-based burgers and sausages to P.S. Kitchen, a shuttered Manhattan vegan restaurant run by fellow Columbia Business School graduate April Tam Smith. P.S. Kitchen had launched an initiative to provide boxed meals for healthcare workers while rehiring furloughed employees, many of whom had been previously incarcerated.

The donation was part of Beyond Meat’s Feed a Million + pledge to distribute more than a million Beyond Burgers to frontline workers and others in need. “I was pleased to partner with my friend and fellow CBS alum April Tam Smith… to ensure people have access to delicious and nourishing meals,” Ethan said. “I hope this effort makes a contribution to well-being as we together confront this pandemic.”

In April, Beyond Meat collaborated again, this time with the Partnership for a Healthier America. At its April 28 virtual summit for “prominent leaders in the food and nutrition space,” Ethan provided a keynote address on the future of food, after opening remarks by Honorary Chair Michelle Obama. Ethan and Beyond Meat ambassador/investor and NBA All-Star Chris Paul also gave a “laptop-side” chat about all things plant-based.

Both partnerships reflect Ethan’s oft-cited Beyond Meat goal of using food as a vehicle for change.

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