When Will We See the Impossible Whopper in LOS?

[Evil Penevil]

 Burger King has rolled out a meatless, plant-based vegan hamburger in all 7,000 of it outlets in the U.S.

McDonald's is experimenting with a meatless, plant-based burger in 28 restaurants in Ontario, Canada.

McD's already has a "McVegan" in Finland and Sweden and it's proved very popular.  However,  the vegan patty is made by a local Swedish company and isn't the same as the "Beyond Meat" patty used in the P.L.T. 

The McVegan is fairly recent, but McDonald's has had vegetarian burgers in India, Sweden,  Israel and some other countries for a number of years. They don't taste like beef burgers, though.  That's the new twist with the Impossible Whopper and the P.L.T.; they taste like beef patties and are said to have the same "mouth feel."

Two companies in the U.S., one called Impossible Foods, the other Beyond Meat, have developed meatless patties that are supposed to closely resemble the appearance, texture and taste of an ordinary beef patty.  It's widely believed that large numbers of hamburger eaters won't switch to a plant-based burger unless it tastes the same as a beef burger.  There's a big debate about this in the U.S.  Some commentators claim people who are truly concerned about the environment and saving rain forests and cows won't eat in Burger King or McD's in any case because both still sell millions of beef burgers.  Optimistic types believe it could be an important baby step towards more responsible food production and consumption.

A number of U.S. food food chains and casual restaurants now offer plant-based burgers. In the U.S.,  Carl's Jr. and White Castle have been offering vegetarian and meat-tasting, plant-based burgers for awhile.

A few smaller chains like Hardee's and Red Robin also offer them, as well as restaurants like Hard Rock, TGIF, Chipolte, etc.

In Canada, A&W offers Beyond Meat Burgers as well as meatless breakfast sandwiches.  The Beyond Burgers have often been sold out.

Nutritionally, the plant-based burgers aren't any better or worse than the beef burgers.  The big attraction of the Impossible Whopper is that it is sustainable and environmentally friendly.

"The Impossible Burger really stands out with its carbon footprint. It uses 95 percent less land and 74 percent less water, while creating 87 percent less greenhouse gas emissions than a beef option."   Link

Fad or real trend?  It's still too early to say.  But if McD's decides to add a plant-based burger to the menus in all 14,000 of its U.S. outlets (38,000 worldwise),  that would indeed be a major development.

Evil

Edited October 28, 2019 by Evil Penevil

[petehoax]

fyi, thailand has a veggie whooper option since quite some time (and a double whopper). but it's not the impossible burger patty of course. 

beyond meat is available in thailand since around a month. you'll find it in sizzler and a few vegetarian restaurants (for example at five star j at the corner of 3rd road and pattaya tai). 

[mixedberrys]

I can never understand why vegans would want to eat something that looks and tastes like meat. 

[petehoax]

10 minutes ago, mixedberrys said:

I can never understand why vegans would want to eat something that looks and tastes like meat. 

because it's good, duh!

[Pattiaman]

14 minutes ago, mixedberrys said:

I can never understand why vegans would want to eat something that looks and tastes like meat. 

Nor can I. Just make something out of veg or whatever and sell it on the basis that it doesn't look or taste like meat, if you see what I mean, in fact meat needn't be mentioned at all, just say delicious for vegans voila!

[Evil Penevil]

51 minutes ago, petehoax said:

beyond meat is available in thailand since around a month. you'll find it in sizzler and a few vegetarian restaurants (for example at five star j at the corner of 3rd road and pattaya tai). 

Thank you!  Good information!  I'll have to see what Five-Star J has done with the Beyond Meat patty.

40 minutes ago, mixedberrys said:

I can never understand why vegans would want to eat something that looks and tastes like meat. 

 

20 minutes ago, Pattiaman said:

Nor can I. Just make something out of veg or whatever and sell it on the basis that it doesn't look or taste like meat, if you see what I mean, in fact meat needn't be mentioned at all, just say delicious for vegans voila!

I don't think that the hamburger chains are targeting comitted vegetarians or vegans with the plant-based patties that mimic beef.  They are going after non-vegetarians who want to eat more responsibly because of the alleged connection between commercial beef operations and global warming.  These customers still want the experience and taste of eating a beef burger even if it is plant-based.    They are cutting back on their consumption of beef and substituting a plant-based product.  They won't do that if the burger doesn't taste "meaty."

Evil

Edited October 28, 2019 by Evil Penevil

[hioctane]

I didn’t know people are into these plant burgers for environmental reasons. I will need to look this up. I always thought it was for health reasons and the American obesity epedemic.

Personally, side by side a Beyond Burger does not taste like a beef burger. It is similar enough so that most people probably couldn’t tell the difference if it was not side by side.

Also, I am on a Keto diet so I will eat meat any day and not put that toxic fake shit in my body!


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[vegas8]

To answer your question I will be there in February. 

[davidge]

As this is in the Restaurant section, perhaps we can try to stay on topic and avoid too many philosophical byways.

Too many stray posts already. Let’s leave it there please.

[Luv2Phuket]

I wondered about the nutritional content.  Found this online:

Nutritionally, the two burgers are almost identical. The Impossible Whopper will save you about 30 calories and a gram of saturated fat. It’s got nine more grams of carbohydrates and one more gram of sugar. With 25 grams of protein, the Impossible Whopper has just three grams fewer than the original. Additionally, an Impossible Burger also doesn’t contain the same antibiotics or hormones as ground beef.

[SoftPorn]

15 hours ago, Evil Penevil said:

McD's already has a "McVegan" in Finland and Sweden and it's proved very popular. 

They got now 3 veggie burger options in Finland. Normal McVeggie, Rye McVeggie (Finnish special with Rye bread) and Kimchi Vegan burger (seasonal special maybe available for about 2months)

[Arnie85]

It’s all a PR wank to say look at us we’re environmentally aware and woke. 

[Mognam]

12 hours ago, hioctane said:

Also, I am on a Keto diet so I will eat meat any day and not put that toxic fake shit in my body!
 

are you suggesting that the beyond meat patty is toxic fake shit?  I don't know if it is or not, just wondering how you came to this conclusion.

23 minutes ago, nzwolfgang said:

It’s all a PR wank to say look at us we’re environmentally aware and woke. 

this maybe the case but they would be foolish not to jump on the bandwagon.  true the whole vegan thing is popular right now.  I'm sure burger king and maccas would have conducted the own studies and came to the decision that this would increase, or prevent the decrease, of their profit margins.  whether the people making the decisions actually give a fuck about the environment is up for debate.

Edited October 29, 2019 by Mognam

[briguy]

Thought I would chime in with a first hand report of what the BK Impossible Burger tastes like. Damn good, I would say! Looks like a hamburger patty, although a bit thinner than their usual Whopper patty. Doesn't taste exactly like a hamburger, but I quite enjoyed the flavor, especially once I put some ketchup on it. A little more expensive than the rest of the BK menu, but I'll be eating it again...

[hioctane]

this maybe the case but they would be foolish not to jump on the bandwagon.  true the whole vegan thing is popular right now.  I'm sure burger king and maccas would have conducted the own studies and came to the decision that this would increase, or prevent the decrease, of their profit margins.  whether the people making the decisions actually give a fuck about the environment is up for debate.

I am saying, in general, man made foods full of chemicals and additives are bad for you. I guess you could say that Beyond Meat falls in this category. All this “diet” foods crap is bad for you. America is more obese than ever! Our bodies are marvelous machines. It can process natural animal fat but it doesn’t understand these man made chemicals! Sorry for the organic/natural rant. LOL

You are talking about different things. Investing/making money and health don’t always go hand in hand.


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[JamesFerris]

13 minutes ago, hioctane said:

I am saying, in general, man made foods full of chemicals and additives are bad for you. I guess you could say that Beyond Meat falls in this category. All this “diet” foods crap is bad for you. America is more obese than ever! Our bodies are marvelous machines. It can process natural animal fat but it doesn’t understand these man made chemicals! Sorry for the organic/natural rant. LOL

You are talking about different things. Investing/making money and health don’t always go hand in hand.


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Everything is "chemicals".  You yourself (and myself) are nothing more than a series of chemical reactions happening at breakneck speed.  There's no evidence whatsoever that anything in this new "Beyond meat" is bad for you - at least compared to a beef burger. 

With respect to "diet" foods being bad for you, that's a very broad statement, but beyond the purview of this topic.  America's obesity epidemic comes down to simple overconsumption of calories.  Eat more than you burn = you gain weight.  It's physics and at the end of the day, with respect to weight management, it's what dietetics boils down to.  

Your body is indeed a marvelous machine, but it can process both animal fat and "these man made chemicals" perfectly well - there's no "understanding" happening, it's biological mechanisms that react to what they are given.  

As mentioned above, these Beyond Meat burgers are very similar nutritionally - I wouldn't expect any health benefit or recommend my clients eat them in lieu of more unprocessed, healthy options.  They are however, more sustainable (beef production is not) which may be a factor for some to consider in their food. 

[ex-pat]

Soon, I hope.

As to why, it's not a health or environmental thing, I just don't like to eat dead animals. Why is that so strange?

Edited October 29, 2019 by ex-pat

[sulu]

I don't know,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,

Edited October 29, 2019 by sulu

[ChiFlyer]

On 28/10/2019 at 20:11, Evil Penevil said:

 Burger King has rolled out a meatless, plant-based vegan hamburger in all 7,000 of it outlets in the U.S.

..........

A number of U.S. food food chains and casual restaurants now offer plant-based burgers. In the U.S.,  Carl's Jr. and White Castle have been offering vegetarian and meat-tasting, plant-based burgers for awhile.

 

Evil

Vegan Sliders. My entire view of the world is under attack. I used to play High School football and that was 50 years ago. After practice we would go gobble down a dozen sliders apiece. We would wash these down with milkshakes with an egg in them (not from WC). At least the egg was probably healthy.

Edited October 29, 2019 by ChiFlyer

[QuotaMan]

They are offering Beyond meat in Thailand Sizzlers through 2019. 

I'm a huge fan of both impossible and beyond meats. The Impossible Whopper is amazing.

I eat Beyond burgers several times a week as they sell them in grocery stores. It has a similar texture to meat, but is different enough from real ground beef flavor wise which I prefer. I no longer eat animal products. Just because I'm vegan doesn't mean I don't enjoy a variety of foods.

[taylor1975]

I believe these veg burgers are quite similar in calories and protein, which is surprising. Assumed they would be far less for both. I imagine similar price too. 

I’d like to try them. Must be easier to grow veg than cows and there’s so many people in the world, i guess its a good thing.

[hioctane]

I believe these veg burgers are quite similar in calories and protein, which is surprising. Assumed they would be far less for both. I imagine similar price too. 
I’d like to try them. Must be easier to grow veg than cows and there’s so many people in the world, i guess its a good thing.

Beyond meat is twice the price of a beef patty in the supermarket.


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[taylor1975]

47 minutes ago, hioctane said:

 

Beyond meat is twice the price of a beef patty in the supermarket.


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I was thinking of the burger king equivalent. Maybe you know the USD cost?

[petehoax]

49 minutes ago, taylor1975 said:

I was thinking of the burger king equivalent. Maybe you know the USD cost?

iirc it's slightly more expensive than the meat equivalent in the US. 
from the original announcement: " the suggested price for an Impossible Whopper will be $5.59 — a dollar more than the suggested price of a beef Whopper at $4.59" (that's in the US and back when it was announced. maybe it changed in the meantime). 

in case you meant impossible whopper vs beyond meat burger: too lazy to google, sorry ;)

Edited October 30, 2019 by petehoax

[Mognam]

10 hours ago, hioctane said:

 

I am saying, in general, man made foods full of chemicals and additives are bad for you. I guess you could say that Beyond Meat falls in this category. All this “diet” foods crap is bad for you. America is more obese than ever! Our bodies are marvelous machines. It can process natural animal fat but it doesn’t understand these man made chemicals! Sorry for the organic/natural rant. LOL

You are talking about different things. Investing/making money and health don’t always go hand in hand.


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I was talking about two different things, that is why I quoted you and another person.  Two different subject.  You're claim was that this food or diet food is toxic  So a far as I can see you have no actual proof that the Beyond Burger is toxic.  A blanket statement of 'All this "diet" foods crap is bad for you' is meaningless without evidence.  I will happily accept that these pattys made from plant material is toxic if provided with evidence to indicate this is the case.  The burden of proof is on you as you made the statement.