In 2019, toxic masculinity appeared consigned to history. Major American technology firms competed to sponsor pride parades, dedicating substantial funds to the cause. Specialist teams worked tirelessly to integrate transgender individuals into workplaces. Equality and gender neutrality seemed destined to prevail, propelling civilisation toward a rosy, carbon-free future. Central to this progressive vision was the shift from meat to plant-based alternatives. Even children understood that animal farming pollutes more heavily than plant-based agriculture. A new kind of person was emerging, their diet attuned to the ecological demands of a zero-carbon world.
Fast forward to 2025, and Donald Trump has returned to the White House. Tough guys and "bro-cracy" are back. Ideology failed to crush them. Soon after, an image circulated worldwide of Donald Trump, Elon Musk, and Robert F. Kennedy Jr. eating beef burgers from McDonald's, a table covered with wrappers, Coca-Cola in hand. This meal, notably consumed aboard an airplane, signalled a cultural shift. The once-popular progressive ideologies—woke culture, ecology, transgender issues, and plant-based ‘meat’—were officially pronounced passé.
This reversal, however, did not occur overnight. Its fate was sealed earlier. For something to become a trend, it must attract investor capital, making stock markets excellent trend indicators—not just of what's fashionable but what generates profits. How, then, did markets anticipate the decline of this trend?
The rise and fall of plant substitutes
The revival of "bro-cracy" required the decline of its predecessor. As Pascal once noted, nature abhors a vacuum. Consider Beyond Meat, one of the sector’s most prominent names, alongside vegan milk producer Oatly. In 2019, the promising startup Beyond Meat entered the US stock market, drawing high-profile investors like Bill Gates, Leonardo DiCaprio, Twitter co-founder Biz Stone, and the Humane Society. Being fashionable, environmentally conscious, and humane—essentially, being a "good person" and saving the planet—meant investing. Shares debuted at $21, valuing the company at $1.2 billion. Collaborations with giants such as McDonald's, KFC, and Starbucks boosted stock prices. These reached $210 per share in the summer of 2019, raising the firm's market cap beyond $14 billion, exceeding today's valuation of Porsche ($12.2 billion). Despite consistent losses, shareholders believed people would substitute plant-based alternatives for juicy steaks in order to save the planet.
