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National

Customers and investors alike are sticking a fork in fake meat.

Why it matters: Eating plant-based meats is one of the easiest ways for Americans to reduce their overall carbon footprint. But after years of hype, the tide is turning against the first generation of plant-based protein makers.

The big picture: Impossible Foods and Beyond Meat captured headlines — and plenty of legitimate interest from consumers — with their plant-based "hamburgers."

Both companies' plant-based burgers were a hit — the "meat" looked and tasted similar enough to beef that many diners couldn't notice the difference.

The meats were so popular that fast food giant Burger King noticed and added an Impossible Whopper to its menu.

Impossible and Beyond started looking at other types of meat they could replace, and expanded their range of offerings to other highly processed meats like chicken nuggets and sausages.

But now, the sector's overall fortunes appear to be waning, with prominent industry names facing headwinds from a slowing economy, and a loss of buzz.

Impossible Foods plans to lay off roughly 20% of its workforce, per a Bloomberg report. However, the company tells Axios that it saw record growth last year. 

Impossible's primary competitor, Beyond Meat, also cut roughly 20% of its workers, and lost several executives, amid its own stock slump.

Beyond Meat's sales fell more than 22% in the third quarter of 2022 compared to 2021. In an Q3 earnings call, company executives blamed inflation for consumers' souring tastes on pricier plant-based meats.

Beyond Meat's stock is down roughly 67% compared to a year ago. 

What they're saying: "We feel good about our growth and performance, and we haven't been experiencing what some of the other brands in the space have reported," an Impossible Foods spokesperson tells Axios in an email.

What we're watching: Impossible Foods and Beyond Meat use a process called high-moisture extrusion, which effectively pre-cooks the protein prior to sale.

The technique works well with ground meat that doesn't require a uniform texture or single cut of meat.

A new set of startups is working on developing new techniques to create more types of plant-based proteins to replace large cuts of meat and fish.

Fake meat fad hits the chopping block

Impossible and Beyond have both laid off employees amid a drop in sales.

Illustration of a burger patty on a flat top grill with grill marks in the shape of the Western hemisphere

Alternative fake meat

Energy & Climate

The Air Force general overseeing American air space admitted Monday that the military had failed to identify multiple Chinese surveillance balloons that flew over the U.S. in the past, calling it a "domain awareness gap."

The big picture: A U.S. fighter jet shot down a Chinese spy balloon over the Atlantic Ocean on Saturday after it had floated across several states, raising concerns that China was collecting sensitive information on military sites.

Over the weekend, a senior defense official said Chinese government surveillance balloons had flown above the continental U.S. four other times in recent years — three times while former president Donald Trump was in office, and once under Biden — "but never for this duration of time."

Driving the news: "I will tell you that we did not detect those threats," Air Force Gen. Glen D. VanHerck, head of U.S. Northern Command and North American Aerospace Defense Command, said Monday of any previous balloons. 

"That's a domain awareness gap that we have to figure out," VanHerck said in a briefing with reporters. "But I don't want to go in further detail."

VanHerck said U.S. intelligence agencies relied on "additional means of collection" to retroactively identify the other balloons.

He said the most recent balloon — which China has claimed was a civilian weather airship — was "up to 200 feet tall" with a payload comparable to that of a "regional jet."

Zoom out: VanHerck said that the U.S. "took maximum precaution to prevent" the balloon from collecting intelligence while it was above the country but declined to provide further details. 

"We did not assess that it presented a significant collection hazard beyond what already exists in actionable technical means from the Chinese," he said.

He also said the balloon provided the U.S. an opportunity to collect intelligence on its purpose, capabilities, and more.

The U.S. Navy on Monday continued to collect debris from the balloon, which will be used for further analysis. 

The balloon's presence over the U.S. led Secretary of State Antony Blinken to cancel his upcoming travel to Beijing, which would have been the first trip to China for a top American diplomat in a half-dozen years.

The saga also prompted criticism of President Joe Biden from congressional Republicans, who accused him of acting too slowly to take down the balloon — but military leaders have said they delayed in part due to safety reasons.

Go deeper: Everything we know about the China balloon

Top general says U.S. failed to detect previous Chinese balloons

Chinese balloons transited the U.S. four other times in recent years, the general said.

A suspected Chinese spy balloon flies near Charlotte, N.C., on February 04, 2023. Photo: Peter Zay/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images

Military

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

The massive earthquake that killed thousands in Syria and Turkey on Monday is a "crisis within multiple crises" for a population already reeling from nearly 12 years of war, humanitarian groups are warning. 

The big picture: The 7.8 magnitude earthquake struck as people slept in southeastern Turkey and northwestern Syria — areas hosting millions of Syrians displaced by years of conflict.

 A second strong quake hit the same area later in the day. 

The death toll, which was at more than 3,400 late Monday local time, is expected to rise as rescue workers search through the debris left by toppled buildings. 

For many Syrians living in both countries, Monday's quake will likely mean they will be displaced yet again. The International Rescue Committee noted in a statement that many people in northwest Syria have been displaced as many as 20 times.

That reality compounds the already dire multi-prong humanitarian and economic crises millions of Syrians are facing in the region. More than 4 million people — the majority of whom are women and children — in northwest Syria depend on some kind of humanitarian assistance, according to OCHA. More than half of the 4.6 million people living in northwest Syria are those who have been displaced. 

An ongoing cholera outbreak has killed at least 100 people since late August, the World Health Organization reported at the end of January. At the same time, the region has experienced a harsh winter, which is expected to make rescue and relief operations even harder. 

"It was like the apocalypse," Abdul Salam al-Mahmoud, a Syrian in the northern town of Atareb, told Reuters. "It's bitterly cold and there's heavy rain, and people need saving."

Hospitals in some of the hardest-hit areas of Syria were overwhelmed as they worked to treat those injured by the earthquake, Doctors Without Borders/Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) said in a statement. 

“We’ve got quite a lot of hospitals that had been previously hit in the war. So they had already the foundations, everything had already been weakened,” Shajul Islam, a British doctor, told AP. 

The devastation is especially acute for children living in Syria, where conflict, the worsening economic situation and food insecurity have left millions of kids to contend with "one of the most complex humanitarian situations in the world," the UN children's agency (UNICEF) said on Monday. Many already struggling with the "physical and psychological scars of war" will now have to deal with yet another traumatic crisis. 

What they're saying: “This earthquake is yet another devastating blow to so many vulnerable populations already struggling after years of conflict," said Tanya Evans, the Syria country director for the International Rescue Committee. 

"With health facilities strained beyond capacity, even before this tragedy many did not have access to the health care they critically need," she said. 

Carsten Hansen, the Middle East regional director for the Norwegian Refugee Council (NRC), said Monday's disaster "will worsen the suffering of Syrians already struggling with a severe humanitarian crisis." 

"In the midst of a winter storm and an unprecedented cost-of-living crisis, it is vital that Syrians are not left to face the aftermath on their own," Hasen said. 

“The needs are very high in northwestern Syria as this [earthquake] adds a dramatic layer for vulnerable [people] who are still struggling after many years of war,” said Sebastien Gay, the head of MSF's mission in Syria. “The massive consequences of this disaster will require a [scaled up] international aid effort.” 

State of play: Before Monday's quakes, less than 50% of the $4 billion needed for the UN-led Syria Humanitarian Response Plan (2022-2023) was funded.

"We count on the international community to help the thousands of families hit by this disaster, many of whom were already in dire need of humanitarian aid in areas where access is a challenge," UN Secretary-General António Guterres said in a statement.

Several organizations, including IRC, the Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies and the Islamic Relief, have launched emergency appeals to help with relief efforts.

Meanwhile, countries worldwide have pledged immediate assistance, including the U.S. and U.K., as well as NATO and several European Union member nations.

President Biden said he has authorized an immediate response. "Our teams are deploying quickly to begin to support Turkish search and rescue efforts and address the needs of those injured and displaced by the earthquake," he added. 

Other countries, including the United Arab Emirates, Qatar, China, and India, have also said they would send monetary aid or search teams to help. 

Russian President Vladimir Putin spoke to his Syrian counterpart and Russia's close ally, Bashar al-Assad, following the earthquake and offered to provide "necessary assistance in relieving the consequences of this disaster," the Kremlin said in a statement. Russia also expressed its readiness to immediately provide assistance to Turkey. 

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said on Twitter that Kyiv was "ready to provide "the necessary assistance to overcome the consequences of the disaster." 

Iran said it was ready to provide "any kind of assistance," according to state media agency IRNA.

Israel is sending an Israeli military search and rescue to Turkey, Axios Barak Ravid reports. Israel will provide aid to Syria through third parties, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said. Israeli officials said the Russians asked for tents, blankets and medicine.

For Syrians, quake is "another devastating blow"

Residents retrieve an injured man from the rubble of a collapsed building following an earthquake in the town of Jandaris, Syria, on February 6, 2023. 

Residents retrieve an injured man from the rubble of a collapsed building following an earthquake in the town of Jandaris, in the countryside of Syria's northwestern city of Afrin in the rebel-held part of Aleppo province, on Feb.  6, 2023. Photo: Rami al Sayed/AFP via Getty Images

Syria

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

World

The U.S. electric car market and its reliance on China is heading for a collision with Congress. 

Why it matters: Lawmakers are setting their sights on the auto industry’s global supply relationships as bipartisan support emerges to deal with the dirtier sides of "clean energy." 

Driving the news: House Republicans and Senate Democrats launched probes in recent weeks into EV and battery manufacturers, their reliance on Chinese businesses and potential risks to national security and efforts to prevent forced labor abroad. 

Senate Finance Chairman Ron Wyden asked eight carmakers for detailed information about their supply chains after a report alleged they had “several supply chain exposures” to a region of China where oppressed Muslim communities are believed to be forced to work at nearby factories. 

“This is one of the more significant inquiries that we’ve undertaken because it affects the well-being of workers and consumers in our country, [and] there are implications worldwide,” Wyden told Axios last week. 

Republicans on the House Science, Space and Technology Committee also began reviewing potential China exposures in twenty federal infrastructure grants to battery tech firms for U.S. projects. 

Zoom in: The Senate probe is getting results — the automakers all gave responses to the Finance Committee and lawmakers are considering whether to conduct “additional investigation,” a committee aide said. 

Wyden plans a hearing “in the coming weeks” about trade enforcement and is considering whether to push for a bipartisan update to customs laws, the aide told Axios, adding the effort isn't limited to dealing with carmakers. 

Four of the eight automakers — Honda, Mercedes-Benz, Stellantis and Volkswagen — told Axios they take this issue seriously and strive to ensure suppliers aren't violating their sustainability standards.

Ford said in a statement: “As we relayed to the Committee, Ford is committed to respecting human  rights everywhere we operate and throughout our entire value chain.” Other companies didn't respond to requests for comment. 

Laura Murphy, a human rights professor who led the team behind the report, told Axios she hopes the committee presses automakers to explain how they "ensure that the metals sourcing for their projects doesn't involve the Uyghur [r]egion." 

"The auto industry needs to be aware that it is exposed in many ways," Murphy said. 

Meanwhile, the House Science investigation’s scrutiny of federal funding to a particular Texas-based company — Microvast —  is finding a fan in Senate Energy and Natural Resources Chairman Joe Manchin. 

“If they’re [Microvast] able to qualify for the incentives we have to make us energy independent, we all should be concerned,” Manchin told reporters last week. 

The big picture: China is the world leader in mining resources and making EV parts. Their hold on supplying battery metals like graphite will make a full excision incredibly difficult. 

Still, auto companies in the probe — like Ford, General Motors, Tesla and Volkswagen — have struck lots of deals with resource and manufacturing firms in the U.S. and elsewhere to try making China optional. 

Between the lines: One auto industry source told Axios that the probes could be damaging if they make lawmakers question the benefits of EV and battery tax incentives, like those in the Inflation Reduction Act. 

“The last thing we need is a political circus around all of this stuff where there are just constant derogatories questioning the value,” said the source, who requested anonymity to candidly discuss the matter. “There’s a lot of benefits that support jobs and national security.” 

The congressional China-EV showdown

Congress is launching probes into the EV industry's reliance on China and the potential risks to national security and efforts to prevent forced labor abroad.

Illustration of a person standing between a US and Chinese flag. 

Energy

About 51% of women in marginalized racial and ethnic groups in the U.S. and four other countries said they'd experienced racism or discrimination at their current workplace, according to a new survey released last week.  

The big picture: The survey's stark results come at a time when some companies are pulling back on certain efforts around diversity and inclusion.

What they did: Researchers from Catalyst, a women's advocacy group, surveyed 2,734 women from Australia, Canada, South Africa, the United Kingdom, and the U.S. 

The research included anyone who selected at least one race or ethnicity besides white.

They asked a yes or no question: "Have you experienced racism or discrimination because of your ethnicity, nationality, race or religion in your current workplace?"

The respondents were also asked whether or not they identified as women or trans women, and if they were LGBTQ. They were also given a palette of eight skin colors and asked to select one that matched their own most closely.

"We really wanted to push the conversation on racism further, and highlight the intersectional nature of racism," said Kathrina Robotham, Ph.D., a senior associate at Catalyst and one of the study's co-authors. 

What they found: Trans women and queer women were also more likely than cisgender women to say they'd experienced racism. And women with darker skin tones were far more likely to say they'd experienced racism at work, as this chart from Catalyst illustrates:

Respondents were also asked to share examples of their experiences with racism at work. "We got an overwhelming amount of stories," Robotham said. 

There's a notion that racist incidents in the modern workplace are fairly covert or subtle, she said, but the incidents respondents described were "blatant."

The report features several quotes from these women, describing colleagues making racist comments about their appearance, their competence and even using slurs.

By the numbers: 48% of women in the U.S. said they experienced racism, compared to 59% in the U.K., 67% in South Africa, 39% in Canada, and 48% in Australia.

What's next: The authors suggest there's a lot that company leaders can do to try to address this issue. Crucially, they can speak up — and set a tone that their workplace is not one where these behaviors are tolerated. 

Go deeper: Read Catalyst's full report.   

Women report stunning levels of discrimination

A survey's stark results comes as some companies are pulling back on certain diversity and inclusion efforts.

Axios

Monday's top stories

Fake meat fad hits the chopping block

Top general says U.S. failed to detect previous Chinese balloons

For Syrians, quake is "another devastating blow"

The congressional China-EV showdown

Women report stunning levels of discrimination

Tech giants rush to put chatbot to work

Washington turns hostile on crypto

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