Beyond Meat, the poster child of plant-based meat, saw sales tank as cash-strapped shoppers turn away from expensive alternative proteins

• Beyond Meat's sales tanked by nearly a third in Q2, which the company attributed to weak demand.
• Consumers are financially squeezed and they're skeptical of the health benefits of plant-based meat, execs said.
• US sales plummeted much more than in Europe, where consumers are more concerned about the planet, execs said.

Beyond Meat's sales are plummeting as consumers pull back on plant-based meat.