In an open letter slammed by Impossible Foods as cynical and disingenuous and dismissed by one commentator as a โPR stunt,โ Lightlife Foods has attempted to distinguish itself from โfood techโ rivals in the plant-based meat arena by positioning itself as โa real food company,โ with products โdeveloped in a kitchen, not a lab.โ
The letter, published in The New York Times and other high-profile publications is addressed to Beyond Meat and Impossible Foods, and signed by Lightlife Foods president Dan Curtin.

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Beyond Meat, whose flagship Beyond Burgerโโ has a similar set of ingredients, the same amount of protein (20g) and saturated fat (5g), more fiber and less sodium than the Lightlife burger, expressed surprise at being called out in the letter, which primarily takes aim at ingredients (soy leghemoglobin, GM soy) used by rival Impossible Foods.โ
A spokesperson told FoodNavigator-USA: โ โIf Lightlife were clear on our ingredients, they would see that our food is made from simple, plant-based ingredients.”
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Impossible Foods, meanwhile, said judging the merits of a food product based on the number of ingredients it contains and whether the average consumer can pronounce them was lazy and unscientific, and slammed the letter as a โdisingenuous, desperate disinformation campaign attempting to cast doubt on the integrity of our products.โโ















