Live data from Hacker News

Burger King is rolling out meatless Impossible Whoppers nationwide

theverge.com

51–60 of 374 posts

Re: Burger King is rolling out meatless Impossible Whoppers nationwide

#51

There’s a good reason why these sort of products are marketed as meatless and not vegetarian, and it’s not because they still contain some animal products. When a true vegetarian is hungry, the first thing that comes to their minds are plant based foods. If the first though is of juicy burgers or bacon or chicken then that person is not a real vegetarian. To be vegetarian is to be vegetarian in mind and identity. Mea…

> To be vegetarian is to be vegetarian in mind and identity.

Most people don't consider this a matter of identity. They're not trying to stand our or make a statement based on what they eat. They just want a healthier more planet-friendly alternative, not a medal. For that, "meatless" is sufficient.

Re: Burger King is rolling out meatless Impossible Whoppers nationwide

#52

There’s a good reason why these sort of products are marketed as meatless and not vegetarian, and it’s not because they still contain some animal products. When a true vegetarian is hungry, the first thing that comes to their minds are plant based foods. If the first though is of juicy burgers or bacon or chicken then that person is not a real vegetarian. To be vegetarian is to be vegetarian in mind and identity. Mea…

I've not intentionally eaten meat in over 15 years. The only real definition of vegetarian is someone who makes a conscious choice to not eat something that contains meat. Just because someone may still crave meat but chooses not to eat it doesn't make them any less of a vegetarian.

Re: Burger King is rolling out meatless Impossible Whoppers nationwide

#53

There’s a good reason why these sort of products are marketed as meatless and not vegetarian, and it’s not because they still contain some animal products. When a true vegetarian is hungry, the first thing that comes to their minds are plant based foods. If the first though is of juicy burgers or bacon or chicken then that person is not a real vegetarian. To be vegetarian is to be vegetarian in mind and identity. Mea…

I dated a vegetarian many years ago. It was my first exposure to that lifestyle. She was not against me eating meat even in front of her. She didn't politicize her choice, it was for her health and nothing more. Luckily some fast food places serve salads and so on trips across country we could stop at those places where I could eat a burger and she could eat a salad. Alternately I would go with her to a local Austin burger joint that had a vegetarian night on Wednesdays. I would eat and enjoy a veggie burger with her. We both were willing to meet each other half way.

options like a veggie burger at Burger King give options to people like her. Not every vegetarian is a vegan who makes all meals political. Burger King serving a veggie burger doesn't have to be political. Not every vegetarian surrounds themselves with only other vegetarians.

Re: Burger King is rolling out meatless Impossible Whoppers nationwide

#54
post #32

I lived in England for a bit and remember fast food places commonly having veggie burgers. This was both in Burger King and McDonald's. It was super convenient for that occasional quick bite. In the US, Burger King has been supplying veggie patties for some time, but I wonder why it took American fast food places so long to expand. For instance, why is there still an absence of veggie burgers in a typical US McDonald…

Vegetarians are not common outside of certain metropolitan areas in the US

Data or it didn't happen.

Re: Burger King is rolling out meatless Impossible Whoppers nationwide

#55
post #32

I lived in England for a bit and remember fast food places commonly having veggie burgers. This was both in Burger King and McDonald's. It was super convenient for that occasional quick bite. In the US, Burger King has been supplying veggie patties for some time, but I wonder why it took American fast food places so long to expand. For instance, why is there still an absence of veggie burgers in a typical US McDonald…

McDonald's has been testing one they call the McVegan, but it's only available in a few countries outside the US. With Burger King's version being available, I'm guessing that will speed up the availability of the McVegan in the US.

Re: Burger King is rolling out meatless Impossible Whoppers nationwide

#56
post #54

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Vegetarians are not common outside of certain metropolitan areas in the US

Data or it didn't happen.

If you feel the need for a fact check, do it yourself (and then share it here). It's not the OPs job to lookup facts for you.

Re: Burger King is rolling out meatless Impossible Whoppers nationwide

#57

had my first impossible burger this weekend. the patty itself was like 6oz and cost $15 just for the burger (no fries). i'm in NYC and even this is a bit high for the area. it was also sitting on a large bun topped with lettuce/tomorrow. the patty was overwhelmed. I thought it tasted just ok and would give it a C. The whopper patty tastes better IMO.

Whopper patties IMHO are the worst fast food burger patties. Sometimes they're over-microwaved and on the border of inedible. I can't imagine an impossible burger tasting worse.

Re: Burger King is rolling out meatless Impossible Whoppers nationwide

#58

This is nice for all the reasons mentioned but honestly I'm probably not going to ever eat it until it makes its way onto the value menu. I don't go to fast food to get a $5 burger, I go there to get a $1.55 burger. I can't be the only one.

Well at some point we will have to reckon with the economics of how a $1.55 burger comes to be. It's simply not possible without sacrificing health, animal welfare, and the environment. Not trying to be preachy about this, but in a cheap meal there are many costs upstream which you pay for one way or another, just not at the counter.

I see no reason we can't have a plant based $1.55 burger that's not superior to the meat burger on all those metrics. The plant burger doesn't have the whole animal portion of the supply chain to pay for. It seems like an economics of scale issue.

Re: Burger King is rolling out meatless Impossible Whoppers nationwide

#59
post #17

Earlier quoted context omitted.

As long as it's described as "meatless" and not "vegan", it's not misleading. It's still vegetarian.

Not if it has meat juice on it due to how its prepared. I realize some people are willing to be handwavey about it...

Imagine being so picky that you're willing to hold back society's progress about an issue that you care about, for no other reason than waiting for perfection.

I get your argument, but you're throwing the baby out with the bathwater.

Re: Burger King is rolling out meatless Impossible Whoppers nationwide

#60
post #41

Here an interesting quote[0] from the founder of Impossible Burger that kind of touches on the meatless vs vegetarian/vegan discussion happening a lot in this thread: "[Before becoming a vegan] I loved putting milk in my coffee and cereal, but plant-based milks don’t work for me so far. No-one is trying very hard to deliver the full experience of what consumers value from milk. We don’t want to follow the course of s…

As an aside, there are quite a few non-dairy creamers that work great for coffee/tea etc, as almond/soy definitely do not work well.
Post reply on HN