Environment

Burger King introduces meat-free Impossible Whopper

Burger King introduces meat-free Impossible Whopper
Impossible Foods produces its beef-free patties using plant-sourced replacements
Impossible Foods produces its beef-free patties using plant-sourced replacements 
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Impossible Foods produces its beef-free patties using plant-sourced replacements
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Impossible Foods produces its beef-free patties using plant-sourced replacements 

Impossible Foods is on a mission to reduce the environmental impact of the meat industry through plant-sourced alternatives, and it has just gained a powerful new ally. Global fast food giant Burger King has announced the introduction of the Impossible Whopper at selected stores, offering customers a decidedly greener version of its most iconic hamburger.

The meatless patties of Impossible Foods have won some fans over the past few years, with its burgers sold in different variations in thousands of restaurants across the US, perhaps most notably in the form of the Impossible Slider at Whitecastle.

The company says its patties require 75 percent less water, 95 percent less land and produce 87 less greenhouse gases than traditional beef patties. It achieves this by sourcing a key molecule called heme from the root modules of soy plants rather than animal muscle, which is then treated and mixed with meat substitutes to produce a beef-like patty with a bloody residue.

But Burger King is surely its biggest coup yet and another step into the mainstream for meatless burgers. The company is introducing the Impossible Whopper initially at 59 restaurants in and around St Louis.

According to the New York Times, in the taste testing of the Impossible Whopper so far, customers and employees have struggled to tell the difference, and the company hopes to expand to every branch in the country if everything goes to plan.

You can check out the promo video below.

Source: New York Times

The Impossible Taste Test | Impossible Whopper

9 comments
9 comments
toyhouse
They've been running this story in the news all day for some reason. In the video here; the two whoppers a week for twenty years - guy! Just,...wow! As for the vegan whopper - I'll give it try. Sure, why not? The only thing I wonder about is,....what's in it? If it's full of coloring, artificial flavorings and texture additives etc.,....real beef may actually be better for everyone - including the earth. Just guessing.
paul314
I've had an impossible as part of a regular slow-food burger, and I wouldn't be surprised if it benefited from having a bunch of sauce and condiments slathered around it.
Grunchy
Less sodium and cholesterol? Hopefully? "Bloody residue" well that's certainly appetizing. I mean that's what regular meat is like, but I wouldn't call that an advantage.
joe46
I like my meat to come from animals, not weird s@&! like that. nothing like a good flesh burger ! YUM!!!
cjboffoli
@toyhouse: A Burger King beef burger is usually made from feedlot cattle which are fed corn despite the fact that cows are not evolutionarily engineered to eat corn. That means they are essentially made sick for the entirety of their short lives and need to be pumped full of hormones and antibiotics, on top of the fact that the whole corn growing ecosystem itself is dependent on a galaxy of toxic petrochemicals (not to mention the processing, refrigeration and other energy expended bringing beef to market). So your guess that a non-beef burger is inherently artificial doesn't seem very well informed. Cheap beef exacts a tremendous toll on both the environment and human health.
Trylon
Waiting for Wendy's to offer some of their burgers with square versions of these patties. And maybe some White Castle sliders.
TomLeeM
If I was a vegetarian and did not want to eat meat, why would I want something that looks and tastes like meat? I wouldn't. this does not make sense to me.
ljaques
Cute commercial. You rock, BK. I'll try one if they come to So OR. They look bloody delicious. ;)
TomLeeM, haven't you noticed? Every veggie substitute is shaped like either a link sausage, sausage patty, or hamburger patty. TSP comes granular and works well in soup. Cracks me up that every vegan is absolutely dying for a burger. Hey BK, now try it the other way. Sub real meat in the veganburgers and watch heads and hearts explode. LOL
WagTheSchmoo
I tried it ... it was awful. McDonald's, on the other hand, has for years had a WONDERFUL non-meat burger in Switzerland called the VeggieMac. It's all veggie based plus CURRY, and it tastes incredibly good ... I can never have just one! Why McD has not brought that terrific sandwich to the USA is beyond me.

But then, these are the folks that bring us the tasty McRib about once every ten years for about 3 or 4 weeks only. It's here now again, but must say that it's smaller and has no sauce and is nowhere near as good as the McRib of 40 years ago.

McD is certainly the strangest-run fast food company ... many years ago their coffee was terrific, then for years it wasn't, then it was again for awhile, then they created the McCafe coffees, and the plain coffee went bad again. And worse, the best thing they offer, the Parfait, is now 1/3rd the size it was in 2004 and costs more.

Many companies have played this game for years, of course, with the Hershey bar being the King of changes. In the 40's it was a nickel and a good-sized bar. Then it cost a dime. For awhile it kept shrinking until the price went to 25 cents, and it got bigger again. And so forth until now it's nicely size, but thinner, and costs about $1.

And so it goes ... but all I want is my McD VEGGIE-MAC! Right now it costs me a minimum of $3,000 for one (air fare, hotels, car rental) in Switzerland. I'd LOVE to get one at my nearest McD! Why, McD ... Why?