Burger King's New Meatless Whopper Tastes Impossibly Real
The fast-food chain's new Impossible Whopper was created in partnership with Impossible Foods
The impossible is coming to Burger King! (The impossible whopper, that is.)
That’s right- the fast-food giant has officially hopped on the plant-based wagon and is testing out the faux-meat burger at 59 locations in St. Louis, Missouri.
The impossible whopper is meant to perfectly mimic Burger King’s staple burger, and so far blind taste tests have proved that this meatless patty is shockingly similar to its beef counterpart.
In fact, Burger King's North America President, Christopher Finazzo, told Reuters that in sampling the impossible whopper among franchisees and colleagues almost no one could tell the difference! The company even made an April fools video, whereby dedicated whopper customers who claim that they would never opt for a meatless option had no idea that they were eating and fully enjoying the plant-based version.
The burger chain hopes that the new veggie whopper will give both vegetarians and vegans or just people who don't want to eat beef every day a chance to eat at Burger King more frequently.
Chris Finazzo, president of Burger King North America, told CNN Business that the chain has been trying to figure out a way to add a non-meat plant-based burger to its menu for around a year. "There's a lot of interest in plant-based burgers," he said.
The meatless whopper is made by Impossible Foods, a company started in 2011 by former Stanford University professor Pat Brown. The company is famous for its mouthwatering Impossible Burger, which looks, feels, tastes, and even bleeds just like meat.
Brown explains that he launched the company in order to design and sell an ethically sourced and sustainable alternative to meat without compromising taste. The world’s appetite for meat plays a large role in climate change and other environmental hazards; therefore, meat alternatives enable people to opt into much more environmentally-friendly behavior.
In fact, according to a company-funded analysis, the impossible burger requires 87 percent less water, 96 percent less land, and emits 89 percent fewer greenhouse gasses as compared to meat burgers.
The impossible burger is also much healthier than beef burgers as it has no trans fats and very little cholesterol.
The newest whopper, therefore, allows customers to keep visiting Burger King without harming their health or the health of the planet.
Impossible meats are already available at over 6,000 restaurants nationwide; however, this newest partnership could easily double that number.
Other fast food chains, such as Taco Bell and Chipotle are also rolling out with more plant-based options to keep up with the growing demand.
The global market for mock meats has grown by over 23 percent and currently exceeds $760 million, according to the Good Food Institute.
If the test program in St. Louis is successful, Impossible whoppers will be rolling on the grill nationally. This partnership between Burger King and Impossible Foods is an impressive step in reducing beef consumption.
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