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Burger King is rolling out a meatless Whopper. Can McDonald’s be far behind?
Washington Post ^ | April 1, 2019 | Tim Carman

Posted on 04/01/2019 8:31:50 PM PDT by EdnaMode

Burger King, whose quarter-pound Whopper pushed its competitors a half-century ago to create their own two-fisted hamburgers, now plans to roll out a vegetarian version of its signature sandwich, relying on plant-based patties developed by San Francisco Bay area start-up Impossible Foods. The Impossible Whopper will be introduced this week at Burger King restaurants in the St. Louis area — in the very state that last year banned the use of the term “meat” for any vegetarian or cell-based substitutes for animal-raised meats.

No, this is not an April Fools’ Day joke. In fact, Burger King’s plan could be the impetus that motivates the highly competitive fast-food burger industry to push for more meat alternatives at a time when beef production has raised countless alarm bells for its contributions to methane production and climate change.

A Burger King spokesman told the New York Times that if the Impossible Whopper succeeds in the Show Me State, the company will expand distribution to all 7,200 restaurants nationwide. Such a move would make the chain the undisputed king of the fake-meat burger. White Castle sells an Impossible Slider at its 370-plus locations. Red Robin has just introduced an Impossible Cheeseburger at its 570 locations, and this year Carl’s Jr. rolled out the Beyond Famous Star, a vegetarian version of its signature burger featuring a plant-based patty from Beyond Meat, at more than 1,000 locations.

(Excerpt) Read more at washingtonpost.com ...


TOPICS: Business/Economy; Chit/Chat; Food; Society
KEYWORDS: badrestaurants; burgerking; climatechange; fakescience; impossiblewhopper; junkfood; meatlesswhopper; tastelessslop; whopper
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To: EdnaMode

just because it’s meatless doesn’t make it healthy. Most frozen meatless “burgers” I’veread nutritional info on boxes are super high in salt or other things that are not so healthy.


21 posted on 04/01/2019 8:51:40 PM PDT by b4me (God Bless the USA)
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To: MtnClimber
Who will be the first to roll out a dirtburger?

I'm holding out for the Soylent burger.


22 posted on 04/01/2019 8:51:55 PM PDT by Ciaphas Cain ("Socialism is a war crime against one's own people." -- tinyowl on 03/11/2019)
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To: EdnaMode

Yuck. It will fail. Didn’t McDonalds offer some type of fake burger briefly several years ago?


23 posted on 04/01/2019 8:53:45 PM PDT by Reno89519 (No Amnesty! No Catch-and-Release! Just Say No to All Illegal Aliens! Arrest & Deport!)
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To: b4me

Cows and methane? Give me a break. There are about 100 million cattle now in the US. In pre-historic times, there were about 100 million buffalo (larger animals, btw).

The atmosphere didn’t seem to mind...


24 posted on 04/01/2019 8:55:09 PM PDT by CondorFlight
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To: EdnaMode

Burger Kings here have had BK Veggie burgers all along and I like them.


25 posted on 04/01/2019 8:55:14 PM PDT by steve86 (Prophecies of Maelmhaedhoc O'Morgair (Latin form: Malachy))
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To: gaijin

LOL

Who goes to these places to eat healthy!!?!

Go to a salad bar if that’s what you want.

If you go to BK or McDonald’s only occasionally, get what you LIKE.


26 posted on 04/01/2019 8:57:02 PM PDT by dp0622 (The Left should know if.. Trump is kicked out of office, it is WAR)
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To: carriage_hill

Haha.


27 posted on 04/01/2019 8:57:10 PM PDT by EdnaMode
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To: dp0622

I went vegetarian and for a while vegan in my late teens and it was very hard to go hang out with friends because then no fats food places had salad bars or many options other than fish sandwich (which I didn’t eat fish back then) or french fries (which were cooked in animal fat back then so I didn’t want to eat them either). No longer vegetarian.

I can see the reason for these chains wanting to add meatless options and appeal to healtheir eating crowds so families and friends can go there. It expands their possible customer base.


28 posted on 04/01/2019 9:03:12 PM PDT by b4me (God Bless the USA)
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To: Telepathic Intruder

I always thought SeaWorld should serve whale burgers.


29 posted on 04/01/2019 9:03:30 PM PDT by Jeff Chandler (This Space For Rent)
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To: EdnaMode

Why would mcd roll out a meatless whopper


30 posted on 04/01/2019 9:05:17 PM PDT by morphing libertarian ( Use Comey's Report; Indict Hillary now; build Kate's wall. --- Proud Smelly Walmart Deplorable)
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To: b4me

Impossible Whopper uses the “Impossible Burger”, which contains (for the NEW formulation):

Water, Soy Protein Concentrate, Coconut Oil, Sunflower Oil, Natural Flavors, 2% or less of: Potato Protein, Methylcellulose, Yeast Extract, Cultured Dextrose, Food Starch Modified, Soy Leghemoglobin, Salt, Soy Protein Isolate, Mixed Tocopherols (Vitamin E), Zinc Gluconate, Thiamine Hydrochloride (Vitamin B1), Sodium Ascorbate (Vitamin C), Niacin, Pyridoxine Hydrochloride (Vitamin B6), Riboflavin (Vitamin B2), Vitamin B12. Contains: Soy

Some restaurants will still be serving the original Impossible Burger for a little longer before they get the new one in stock. Here’s the full ingredient list for the original recipe.

Water, Textured Wheat Protein, Coconut Oil, Potato Protein, Natural Flavors, 2% or less of: Leghemoglobin (Soy), Yeast Extract, Salt, Konjac Gum, Xanthan Gum, Soy Protein Isolate, Vitamin E, Vitamin C, Thiamin (Vitamin B1), Zinc, Niacin, Vitamin B6, Riboflavin (Vitamin B2), Vitamin B12. Contains: Soy, Wheat

So the Impossible Whopper is a total garbage patty between white bread ... either a wheat patty between white wheat bread, or a soy patty full of phytoestrogens between white wheat bread ...


31 posted on 04/01/2019 9:07:00 PM PDT by catnipman (Cat Nipman: Vote Republican in 2012 and only be called racist one more time!)
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To: Jeff Chandler
The only burgers I would not eat out of principal. Well, that and human burgers. And dolphin burgers. Elephant burgers, great ape burgers, pigmy marmoset burgers...

There are lots of burgers I would not eat out of disgust.
32 posted on 04/01/2019 9:16:05 PM PDT by Telepathic Intruder
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To: minnesota_bound

Seaweed burger made my McDonalds — 1991

https://money.howstuffworks.com/5-failed-mcdonalds-menu-items4.htm

from link:

More than a decade before the “Super Size Me” documentary, nutritionists were attacking McDonald’s for what they considered an unhealthy menu. To appease these critics and lure the health-conscious crowd into its restaurants, McDonald’s unveiled the McLean Deluxe in 1991. It advertised the burger as 91 percent fat free; it had 10 grams of fat compared to the Big Mac’s 26 [source: McCullough].

The secret was in the seaweed. (more at link)


33 posted on 04/01/2019 9:17:59 PM PDT by GOPJ (Did the Southern Poverty Law Center assist with organizing "Charlottesville"?)
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To: EdnaMode

No meat Whopper? They should call it the “Whimper.”


34 posted on 04/01/2019 9:20:01 PM PDT by PLMerite ("They say that we were Cold Warriors. Yes, and a bloody good show, too." - Robert Conquest)
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To: EdnaMode

35 posted on 04/01/2019 9:20:41 PM PDT by UCANSEE2 (Lost my tagline on Flight MH370. Sorry for the inconvenience.)
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To: EdnaMode

They can roll them out. I won’t eat them.


36 posted on 04/01/2019 9:21:24 PM PDT by mass55th ("Courage is being scared to death, but saddling up anyway." ~~ John Wayne)
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To: minnesota_bound
"I asked for no ketchup or mutard. They did leave it out along with all the fixings."

I think the odds of a person getting the correct order from McDonald's these days is about slim to none.

37 posted on 04/01/2019 9:23:15 PM PDT by mass55th ("Courage is being scared to death, but saddling up anyway." ~~ John Wayne)
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To: b4me

I stand corrected.

As long as they keep the old stuff, which OF COURSE they will, you’re right.

As long as the sales are worth the added equipment and supplies needed.

And so far, salads and smoothies and other things a little more healthy than the usual fare have been successful.


38 posted on 04/01/2019 9:24:27 PM PDT by dp0622 (The Left should know if.. Trump is kicked out of office, it is WAR)
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To: o-n-money

Whatever they are, my body just doesn’t recognize it as food anymore. 30 minutes after eating, it feels like I didn’t have anything to eat. Waste of money.


39 posted on 04/01/2019 9:24:45 PM PDT by Karl Spooner
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To: EdnaMode

It won’t be the meatless part of it that causes it to fail, but the economics. The fast food giants are marketed to an audience that is very sensitive to price changes. A ten cent change does not go unnoticed and logistics trails are determined years ahead of time to keep stability at a maximum.

The impossible burger is a lab experiment in many ways. The big chains will trot it out for publicity and research, and scientists will write stuff down and a big meaty apology will be made.

Selling a burger grown in a lab or made from something other than meat has huge upsides for these companies, the idea that you can cut the farmer and the animal out of the equation is very appealing for the bean counters. Some day one of these big companies will make the leap, when they have the data that says they can deliver x corporate profits over y quarters and a very low delta of profit flux by doing so.


40 posted on 04/01/2019 9:30:33 PM PDT by jz638
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