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National

The fast-food industry has fallen in love with plant-based "meats" and the boost in foot traffic and sales they provide from more health- and climate-conscious consumers.

Why it matters: The public’s growing interest in plant-based "meat" has start-ups trying to scale up and expand their market share, and food giants, such as Tyson Foods, are trying to muscle—and cash—in. The plant-based meat industry has seen $12.6 billion in sales and $4.5 billion in revenue as of July 2019, according to the Plant Based Food Association, and such non-meat burgers were estimated to be in 7,200 Burger Kings, 1,000 Carl's Jrs., and hundreds of other fast-food joints at the close of 2019.

The state of play: Zak Weston, a foodservice analyst at The Good Food Institute, says both businesses benefit when fast-food chains partner with plant-based "meat" companies, such as start-up Impossible Foods and Lightlife Foods, which is operated by Canadian company Maple Leaf Foods. 

Every time a new partnership is announced, the chain and plant-based company see a rise in their stock prices, per Weston.

Plant-based meats have a 3.5% market in American quick service restaurants. 

Burger King has capitalized on the plant-based "meat" trend following the release of its Impossible Whooper. The stores saw an overall increase in foot-traffic and a 3.5% sales increase in its U.S. stores, CNBC reports.

Dave and Buster's restaurants switched from using Impossible Foods products for its burgers to Lightlife's plant-based patty as it gained popularity — highlighting an increase in market competition, Reuters reports. 

Food giants have entered the growing market — posing a challenge to startups centered around plant-based meats, the Washington Post notes. The larger companies already have systems in place to handle national production and distribution, areas where  startups have struggled to meet growing demand,  CNBC reports.

Tyson announced the launch of its plant-based nuggets and a burger blended with beef and peas in July through its company Raised & Rooted. Beyond Meat stocks fell the day Tyson revealed its plant-based products, per the Post.

Nestlé launched a plant-based patty in the fall, per CNBC. Nestlé CEO Mark Schneider told Fortune it took the company only 18 months to get a plant-based product on the shelves after they decided to enter the market.

Why now? Weston says companies selling vegan or vegetarian items previously targeted a niche audience, but are now producing and marketing their items to the general public as healthy alternatives that taste just like meat.

Worth noting: Ricardo San Martin, who studies meat alternatives at UC-Berkeley, told Vox, "plant-based means it’s of ingredients that come from plants...they are processed foods." 

In regards to climate change, meat production accounts for 8% of the greenhouse gases emitted in the U.S., the New York Times reports. 

Yes, but: While plant-based "meat" products have a smaller carbon footprint than animal meat products, they have five times the footprint of a bean patty, Marco Springmann, a senior environmental researcher at the University of Oxford, told CNBC. 

Plant-based meat is ultra-processed, but consumers can't get enough

Kitchen matches: Plant-based meats fire up fast-food traffic and sales

Plant-based meat companies are changing the way they market their products.

Illustration of a cheeseburger with a patty shaped like a plant

Business

Fast food

Energy

Top stories & latest news on the Federal Reserve, real-time data, plus the biggest shifts happening in the U.S. and global economy.

Economy

After a record economic expansion, the coronavirus pandemic sent the U.S. economy into a recession as unemployment soared to staggering heights. The country now faces urgent questions about how much stimulus is needed for reeling consumers and businesses, and what a recovery might look like.

Economy & Business

Benny Gantz, the leader of Israel's Blue and White party who is challenging Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in upcoming elections, has accepted President Trump's invitation for a separate, one-on-one meeting at the White House on Monday.

Why it matters: A meeting between the U.S. president and a foreign opposition leader is very unusual. It indicates the importance the White House places on showing Gantz that he is respected and dispelling concerns he's walking into a political trap.

Gantz has few foreign policy credentials, and a meeting with the president of the U.S. is a significant achievement to show voters a month before the elections.

For the record: Two of Gantz's close advisers will accompany him to Washington. Yoram Turbowitz was the chief of staff to former Prime Minister Ehud Olmert, and General Amir Eshel is a former commander of the Israeli air force. Eshel is Gantz’s point of contact with the  Trump administration on the Israeli-Palestinian peace plan, and he met for many hours with U.S. Ambassador David Friedman about the plan, which Trump said could be released on Tuesday.

What Gantz is saying:  In a statement on Saturday, Gantz said the White House plan “will go down in history as a meaningful landmark, mapping the way for different players in the Middle East to finally move ahead towards a historic regional agreement”. 

"There is a special long-standing bond between the United States and Israel, built on shared values and joint interests. The United States is Israel's closest ally and friend, and under President Trump's leadership, the alliance between Israel and the United States has grown stronger, deeper and more significant than ever."

How it works: Netanyahu announced he will meet Trump separately at the White House on Monday and Tuesday.

Context: Gantz previously considered turning down Trump's White House invitation when Vice President Pence stated that Gantz was invited on Netanyahu's recommendation. 

The big picture: Little more than a month remains before Israel's elections on March 2. Had Gantz rejected Trump's offer, he could've risked alienating the Trump and being seen as a politician who couldn't handle the relationship with Israel's most important ally.

Go deeper: Gantz considers turning down Trump's White House invitation

Israel's Benny Gantz accepts Trump's invitation for White House meeting

Gantz originally had considered turning down Trump's offer.

Photo: Emmanuel Dunand/AFP via Getty Images 

Politics

Benny Gantz

World

Conflicts, policies and powers are intersecting and shaping the world. Breaking news and analysis of national security, foreign policy and global crises.

Over 1.5 billion people globally are celebrating the Lunar New Year on Saturday and into the weekend, USA Today reports, as participants honor ancestors, exchange gifts of good fortune, and toast to abundance.

The backdrop: Amid the celebrations, major Chinese cities Beijing and quarantined Wuhan are banned from large gatherings and travel that are ubiquitous with the holiday, due to the growing coronavirus crisis.

China is locking down at least three cities with a combined population of over 18 million, Hong Kong has closed all of its schools for two weeks, and Wuhan has reportedly banned the use of cars in downtown areas.

In this image, fireworks burst over the Singapore sky

Fireworks during the River Hongbao festival in Singapore on Jan. 25. Photo: Suhaimi Abdullah/Getty Images

In this image, a woman prays in honor of the new year

Prayer at the Vihara Satya Dharma Temple on Jan. 25 in Bali, Indonesia. Photo: Mahendra Moonstar/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images

A lion dance on Jan. 25 in Yokohama, Japan. Photo: Tomohiro Ohsumi/Getty Images

This image shows Lunar Near Year celebration in Bangkok, with red Chinese lanterns lighting the street

Dragon dancers celebrate in Bangkok, Thailand. Photo: Anusak Laowilas/NurPhoto via Getty Images

In this image, a gigantic lit-up dragon and wall is seen 

A Chinese dragon in Moscow's Sokolniki Park. Photo: Alexander Shcherbak\TASS via Getty Images

In this image, rows of red candles are lit

Prayer at Amurva Bhumi Temple on Jan. 25 in Jakarta, Indonesia. Photo: Anton Raharjo/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images

In this image, rows of lanterns overshadow a street

Myanmar people attend a Lunar New Year celebration on Jan. 25 in Yangon, Burma. Photo: Lauren DeCicca/Getty Images

In this image, Boris Johnson greets two lions for Lunar New Year

Prime Minister Boris Johnson hosts celebrations outside 10 Downing Street on Jan. 24. Photo: Lauren Hurley/Getty Images

In this illustration, two bursts of fireworks light up New Yorks skyline

Fireworks over the midtown Manhattan skyline celebrating the Lunar New Year on Jan. 23. Photo: Gary Hershorn/Getty Images

In this photo, a man wears a mask in front of a "2020" sign 

A man wears a protective face mask outside Beijing's Forbidden City on Jan. 25. Photo: Nicolas Asfouri/AFP via Getty Images

Go deeper: Fear of Virus Ruins the ‘Happiest Day’ for Millions of Chinese (NYT)

In photos: Lunar New Year celebrated around the world

But China has locked down at least three cities amid the coronavirus crisis.

In this image, a man breathes fire as a dragon dancer celebrating the Lunar New Year

Dragon dancers celebrate in Manila, Philippines, on Jan. 25. Photo: Jes Aznar/Getty Images

China

Coronavirus

The Veterans of Foreign Wars, the nation's largest veterans group, is asking President Trump to apologize for minimizing the injuries of troops sustained in an attack from Iran on a U.S. base in Iraq.

Context: Iran attacked a U.S. base in Iraq after an American drone killed Iranian Gen. Qasem Soleimani. Trump had originally said U.S. soldiers didn't suffer any injuries, but the Pentagon confirmed on Friday that 34 soldiers suffered from traumatic brain injuries.

Trump said at a news conference earlier this week that he did not consider the injuries very serious.

"I heard that they had headaches, and a couple of other things. No, I don’t consider them very serious injuries relative to other injuries that I’ve seen,” the Wall Street Journal quotes the president as saying. “I’ve seen people with no legs and no arms.”

"In light of today's announcement from the Defense Department that 34 U.S. service members suffered traumatic brain injuries [TBI] as a result of Iran's retaliatory strike and President Trump's remarks which minimized these troops’ injuries, the Veterans of Foreign Wars cannot stand idle on this matter." 

"TBI is a serious injury and one that cannot be taken lightly. TBI is known to cause depression, memory loss, severe headaches, dizziness and fatigue — all injuries that come with both short- and long-term effects." 

"The VFW expects an apology from the president to our service men and women for his misguided remarks. And, we ask that he and the White House join with us in our efforts to educate Americans of the dangers TBI has on these heroes as they protect our great nation in these trying times. Our warriors require our full support more than ever in this challenging environment."

William “Doc” Schmitz, VFW National Commander

Pentagon: 34 U.S. troops suffered brain injuries following Iran attack

Trump says "all is well" after Iranian strikes on bases hosting U.S. troops

VFW wants Trump to apologize for minimizing soldiers' injuries in Iraq

"The VFW expects an apology from the president..."

Photo: Yasin Ozturk/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images

Donald Trump

2024 will be an election year like no other, as President Biden seeks re-election amid economic uncertainty, two wars and questions about his age. His likely foe, former President Trump, faces felony charges and vows revenge on his political enemies. Meanwhile, Americans generally are dissatisfied with those choices and are divided over immigration, race, education and more.

Politics & Policy

Finish Line

Axios Finish Line

The last quarter of 2019 saw a big jump in demand for a bundle of jobs that could dominate the future, per an index tracked by the IT services firm Cognizant.

Why it matters: "The notion that there's gonna be a jobs apocalypse has been with us for the last decade, but the data shows that's not coming to pass," says Rob Brown, VP of Cognizant's Center for the Future of Work.

The backdrop: For over a year, Cognizant has been tracking U.S. hiring for 50 jobs that it deems forward-looking, with statistics going back to 2016 pulled from the Bureau of Labor Statistics via Burning Glass, a jobs database.

Cognizant's Jobs of the Future Index includes jobs in AI, transportation, health care, human resources and more.

That demand for these jobs of the future is growing faster than demand for all jobs is a bright spot in the ongoing discussion about how tech will upend the future of work. Yes, automation and AI will disrupt jobs, but they will — and already do — create a host of new occupations and wholly new industries.

But, but, but: There's still a dire lack of job training in the U.S. — a necessary step to prepare workers for the future of work.

All of Cognizant's jobs of the future — both high skill and low skill — are tech-infused, and companies will need to train and retrain employees to prepare them for these roles, says Brown.

"The road to the future of work runs right through HR," he says.

A surge in the "jobs of the future"

Those could be in AI, transportation, health care, and human resources.

Future

Jobs

The American Dream’s promise of a better life if you work hard enough is fracturing.

The big picture: Socioeconomic mobility in the U.S. is at its most sluggish in history. Not only are fewer Americans living better than their parents, but there’s also a growing number of people doing worse than their parents.

The World Economic Forum released a report this week in Davos that ranked the United States 27th in the world for social mobility. The top five nations were Denmark, Norway, Finland. Sweden and Iceland.

In a recent study, researchers from UPenn, Northwestern, the University of Nebraska and the Census Bureau looked back as far as 1850 and concluded that socioeconomic mobility in America is at its worst ever.

Per the study, around 60% of people born in the 1940s did better than their parents, compared to 40% of those born in the 1980s.

And just 15% of 1940s kids lived worse than their parents, compared to 30% of people born in the 1980s.

"Most parents expect that their kids will do better than them," says Xi Song, a professor at UPenn and one of the researchers. But now that happens for less than half of kids.

There's a stark racial gap when it comes to mobility, Stanford law professor Ralph Richard Banks writes in a New York Times op-ed.

Axios

Saturday's top stories

Kitchen matches: Plant-based meats fire up fast-food traffic and sales

Israel's Benny Gantz accepts Trump's invitation for White House meeting

In photos: Lunar New Year celebrated around the world

VFW wants Trump to apologize for minimizing soldiers' injuries in Iraq

A surge in the "jobs of the future"

The American Dream — in crisis

Deep Dive: World leaders in Davos walk the U.S.-China tightrope

Trump impeachment trial recap, day 5: White House lawyers begin their rebuttal

Trump impeachment trial recap, day 4: Schiff closes

Impeachment by the numbers

Lawyer alleges Giuliani associate recorded Trump comments on Ukrainian ambassador