In a world in which climate change is becoming an increasingly urgent problem, plant-based meats may be a sustainable solution for reducing our carbon footprint.
Companies like Impossible Foods and Beyond Meat have created their own line of vegan meat that reduces the amount of greenhouse gasses drastically.
Impossible Foods focuses on bringing plant-based meat alternatives to over 17,000 restaurants and chains, such as Little Caesars and Burger King; the company now sells its products in grocery stores as well.
Beyond Meat focuses on taking plant-based meat alternatives directly to the consumer through local grocery stores. Like Impossible Foods, the company sells its plant-based products to restaurants and chains, most notably Hardee’s and Carl’s Jr.
Both companies aim to escort plant-based alternative products into the mainstream and drastically reduce meat consumption.
According to a study done by Impossible Foods, plant-based burgers use 96% less land and 87% less water, while emitting 89% fewer greenhouse gasses.
The unveiling of the Impossible Whopper has brought nothing but good things to Burger King. The Impossible Whopper has been a huge hit and was projected to create a 6% sales growth in the 2019 third quarter for the chain nationwide, according to Business Insider.
Hardee’s released the Beyond Burger in late 2019, so the plant-based burger’s impact upon revenue is still to be determined. Nonetheless, according to Forbes, Beyond Meat has seen a massive increase of revenue of $71 million over the past two years, with a projected $270 million increase over the next two years.
The Impossible Burger is popping up all over town in restaurants. Trolly Stop Hot Dogs, The Spotted Dog, Trilogy and Silverspot Cinema are just a few of the local restaurants that sell Impossible Foods in Chapel Hill.
Although Beyond Meat has not partnered with any local restaurants, their products are available at grocery stores across Chapel Hill and Carrboro such as Food Lion, Harris Teeter, Whole Foods, Weaver Street Market and Walmart.
After going to try the Impossible Whopper from Burger King, and the Beyond Burger from Hardee’s, I was able to attest to the taste of both.
I found the Beyond Burger from Hardee’s to be a poor substitute for a real hamburger. The texture was grainy and didn’t have the same flavor or feel of actual meat. I would not recommend the Beyond Burger: it’s just too bland, and only the condiments make the sandwich approximate an actual burger.
The Impossible Whopper from Burger King, on the other hand, tasted just like a real burger. As an avid meat eater, I would not be able to tell the difference between a regular beef burger and a plant-based Impossible burger.
Beyond Meat uses beet juice and apple extract, along with other natural flavors, to make their burgers taste like the real thing. Impossible Foods, on the other hand, uses heme, a fermented genetically engineered plant-based yeast, to replace the meat flavor. Heme is found in plants and animals, but mostly in animals, which gives meat that flavor we love.
As our world looks for new ways to slow down climate change, plant-based meat is a very promising option. These alternatives for meat have become a great option for everyone and the environment, while still keeping the taste of real meat.
