By Since 1 April, Burger King introduced a new Whopper that is identical in taste to the original, except that it contained zero beef.
The new “Impossible Burger” is being trialed at 59 restaurants in United States, St Louis.
BK’s meatless burger contains patties made of heme, produced by the startup company Impossible Foods.
Heme is a protein cultivated from soybean roots, that mimics the texture of meat so convincingly, that Burger King’s chief marketing officer, Fernando Machado, told New York Times that their team members “who know the Whopper inside and out, they try it and they struggle to differentiate which one is which”.
Deputy Prime Minister of Singapore Tharman Shanmugaratnam shared a Vox article of the burger on his Facebook page, affirming the Whopper’s delectability and its environmental initiative.
“I’ve tried the ‘Impossible Burger’, and it’s actually very tasty”, he wrote.
“This can indeed become a big deal,” he continued as he quoted a section of the article:
“This is a huge deal for those who want to see meat alternatives replace actual meat because of concerns over animal cruelty or climate change. If this scales up, it could help save hundreds of thousands of animals from suffering on factory farms, and it could fight global warming by reducing the number of methane-producing cattle. It could also combat other problems like antibiotic resistance.”
He added, “Plus it frees up a lot of land(s) used for livestock – which can instead be used to grow the crops for a growing world population. Or to preserve nature.”
Plant-based meat is becoming a big deal and some of the biggest meat companies are investing in meat alternatives.
Burger King is not alone in its meatless protein venture; White Castle is offering a slider version of heme patties produced by Impossible Foods while Carl’s Jr.’s veggie burger is from a partnership with another plant-based meat company, Beyond Meat.