By: Cindi Avila
Remember when Wendy’s asked, “Where’s The Beef?” Thanks to a new meat-less burger, people will be asking that question less and less. The Impossible Burger has been floating around the food industry for a few years but didn’t get any major attention until Burger King became “the first coast-to-coast quick-service restaurant to serve the… plant-based meat from food startup Impossible Foods.” The concept was in the works for almost a decade. The idea was to make a veggie burger that would resemble beef as closely as possible, from the texture to the taste. So it was tested and tweaked and then introduced to the market.
I’ve been a vegetarian since I was 15, so I’ve had countless veggie burgers. I wouldn’t say I ever compared many of them to meat. The idea was I gave up meat, so why would I even want to replicate the taste? The burgers I consumed were based on everything from soy to beans and beets. I was happy with that, but at the same time, veggie burgers weren’t exactly mainstream. I basically had to forego eating at fast food restaurants, because most outlets didn’t offer anything vegetarian, much less vegan. I wanted meatless options to appear on menus everywhere. But it proved difficult for a restaurant to make the commitment to serve plant-based cuisine. Sometimes an eatery would test out something vegetarian and I would get excited, but then disappointment would set in when I’d return a few months later to learn the item was taken off the menu because it wasn’t a big seller.
In the last decade as more plant-based items were introduced into grocery stores, I often predicted, “this will be the year that this becomes more than a trend.” But every year I’ve been wrong, until now. Burger King took a chance, a risk that few other conglomerates have been willing to make. They decided to test out the Impossible Whopper in St. Louis-area BKs. The test was so successful that now it is popping up at locations across the country.
As it hit some Miami area locations earlier this month (where BK headquarters is located) I jumped at the chance to try it. I wanted to make sure to support the movement. If a vegetarian won’t support it, who will? How good is it? As one carnivore who tried it told me, “it’s a game changer.” Meat eaters and vegetarians alike (this one included) are all saying you can’t tell the difference. And that seems to be the idea.
As for what is in the burger, the company’s website says the protein comes from soy and potato, and coconut and sunflower oils give it a “juicy sizzle.” There’s also a lot of science behind it that helps with binding and flavor.
There’s more to this burger than science and taste though. The company’s CEO, Pat Brown, started the company with the earth on his mind:
Impossible Foods began in 2011 with an ambitious goal: To drastically reduce humanity’s destructive impact on the global environment by completely replacing the use of animals as a food production technology.
If you aren’t that familiar with factory farms and the harm they do to animals and the environment take some time to read Michael Pollan’s “Omnivore’s Dilemma.” As Paul McCartney once said, “If slaughterhouses had glass walls, everyone would be a vegetarian.” Without a lot of options though, a lot of people didn’t want to see inside. But now the tide may be changing.
The Washington Post recently wrote, “A new day is dawning for the meat industry, and the Word of the Day is: smaller.”
“Cattlemen are waking to the very real possibility that they have nowhere to go but down. America may have reached Peak Meat.”
But Beef Magazine writes:
Despite the white noise of these headlines, I want to emphasize one clear point — beef can handle this competition. We are king of the center of the plate and will continue to be in the future. These products may wax poetic and claim the ethical and environmental high ground. However, when rubber meets the road, beef has the edge. No question about it.
And the meat industry can rest easy that not everyone is going to jump on the Impossible bandwagon. Fortune magazine spoke with Arby’s president Rob Lynch and reports:
Arby’s has no intention of following suit.
“It won’t happen on my watch,” Lynch tells Fortune. “The only way would be if I got fired for some reason.”
The story continues:
Lynch said Arby’s embracing the meatless craze would muddy the restaurant’s all-about-the-meat image, which has been fundamental to its financial upswing.
“You have to stand for something,” Lynch said, with animal-byproduct patriotism. “We’ve turned this brand around by making big, high quality, meaty, abundant sandwiches. That’s who we are.”
But what some people are missing is this shouldn’t be all or nothing. It should be about choice and more options. And in Burger King’s case that could mean a big boost in business.
It looks like BK’s biggest competitor McDonald’s is taking a wait and see approach. CNBC reports:
At its annual shareholder meeting Thursday, Silvia Lagnado, the company’s global chief marketing officer and director of its menu, said that the company was monitoring the plant-based meat alternatives but would not disclose any plans at this time.
“We obviously have to assess whether consumer demand [would be at a] level we believe would be sustained and make the right decision based on how the model works and the important complex considerations of our restaurant,” she said.
This story contains opinion and analysis