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Burger King is rolling out meatless Impossible Whoppers nationwide

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Re: Burger King is rolling out meatless Impossible Whoppers nationwide

#131

Post by adrianmonk »

Mediterraneo10 wrote: post #6
bifrost wrote: post #2

Its kinda misleading, there's still animal products in this because of how the food is prepared...

Indeed, unless Burger King is using a completely separate grill for the vegetable burgers, some vegetarians/vegans are going to be upset that their vegetable patty was prepared where meat was and possibly exposed to meat, and there could be kosher/halal issues.

Burger King doesn't use a grill at all. They flame-broil their burgers.

I believe some (or all?) of them use a Nieco ( https://nieco.com/ ) brand broiler that basically has a metal conveyor belt that carries the patty through a flame.

See this video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GSuLWkBt5MI

They could, if they wanted, designate one lane solely for Impossible patties (and other non-meat products).

If they don't, looks by the time the belt makes it way back through the flame, whatever residue on it will have been mostly reduced to ash. I would guess the belt wouldn't transfer meat grease and crumbs onto a veggie patty as much as a grill would. But, after it leaves the belt, it slides down to a holding area, where it would come into contact with whatever else was on the belt before it.

Re: Burger King is rolling out meatless Impossible Whoppers nationwide

#132

Post by ndespres »

goda90 wrote: post #67
ndespres wrote: post #45

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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.

You're not going to just convince the average consumer to not buy the $1.55 burger in front of them by telling them to think about the upstream. You need to provide them with a straightforward alternative. Right now a $5 meatless burger might be able to compete with a $5 beef burger, but it's still going to lose in the $1.55 weight class.

If people had to pay the true cost rather than the often subsidized one, it would be a more equal choice. I wouldn't propose to market "meaty" vs "meatless" on the basis of these hidden costs.

The irony to me is that the $1.55 burger is truly the "impossible" one. Without massive subsidies for feed corn, water, farm labor, etc the value meal burger would not exist.

Re: Burger King is rolling out meatless Impossible Whoppers nationwide

#133

Post by clairity »

rottyguy wrote: post #43

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.

yup, in LA there's monty's ( https://montysgoodburger.com/ ). it's similarly priced ($16, i think), but that's too much for a mediocre burger. to be fair, it usually has a line. but for that price, it really needs to be comparable to father's office or plan check, which are both delicious.

Re: Burger King is rolling out meatless Impossible Whoppers nationwide

#134

Post by jermaustin1 »

sgillen wrote: post #100
goda90 wrote: 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…

Ironically I find that I (vegetarian, not vegan) tend to enjoy meat replacements that don't try replicate meat. I find the ones that DO try to replicate meats taste are just not very good at it, and it ends up tasting pretty bad. The good stuff is still tasty and savory but it's doing its own thing. edit: Not to say the impossible burger can't be good (I've not been able to try one) Just a comment on existing product…

I am with you 100%, I wan't a veggie patty for the veggies, not as a replacement for meat.

My problem stems from the fact that I'm not vegetarian, I am always comparing the meatless burger patties with the "meatful" variety, and they never compare. I've had Impossible burgers and the Beyond Meat burgers, and they just aren't the same.

Re: Burger King is rolling out meatless Impossible Whoppers nationwide

#135

Post by chrisco255 »

honkycat wrote: post #71
everdev wrote: post #40

I wonder what the cost basis is of an Impossible Burger vs. a beef patty. The meat industry has built up some economies of scale but it's hard to believe that raising and slaughtering cows is the most cost effective way to feed people protein.

I am not a vegan. But I do hold a lot of environmental values. There is a LOT of interesting writing on the economy of the meat industrial complex. In essence: It is totally propped up by with subsidies from the US Government. They LOSE money on every cow slaughtered. They destroy our planet. All of the profits go to the billionaire farm owners who lobby to keep the laws in place. It is so horribly corrupt. Personall…

You're linking to a website with a clear agenda, hardly a reliable source. First off, who are the billionaire ranchers and secondly, why would it be wrong for them to exist (since they exist for every other major industry, too, including tech).

- Farm land for vegetables takes up MASSIVE amounts of space, and it's not the same as leaving that land to nature and wildlife - Animals have to be killed in the production of veggie farms, from pesticides to rodents - Water doesn't get "used" up when you feed cattle with it. It goes through the same cycle it has for billions of years for all the other animal life on this planet. What gives? - Factory farms are more common for vegetables than they are for cattle, and it's not like the harvesters are getting paid any more than the ranchers. They're often paid less. 91% of cattle ranches are family owned (https://www.nass.usda.gov/Publications/Highlights/2015/Cattl...)

Re: Burger King is rolling out meatless Impossible Whoppers nationwide

#136

Post by gitgreen »

mfatica wrote: post #90
everdev wrote: post #40

I wonder what the cost basis is of an Impossible Burger vs. a beef patty. The meat industry has built up some economies of scale but it's hard to believe that raising and slaughtering cows is the most cost effective way to feed people protein.

I can "buy" a cow from a local farmer and they will raise it and slaughter it and deliver all the meat butchered from the cow. It provides nearly a year's supply of meat, at much lower cost than buying similar amounts from the grocery store. If more people followed suit of buying local farm direct then the whole thing would be better off.

You're leaving out the cost of owning and powering a chest freezer which is not insignificant.

Re: Burger King is rolling out meatless Impossible Whoppers nationwide

#137

Post by stale2002 »

Majestic121 wrote: post #72
eloff wrote: post #56

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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.

That's not how the burden of proof works. It becomes the OP's job to provide fact when they state things and then are asked to back them up. OP can then choose not to do so, but the one asking for source is not to be blamed here.

Here is some evidence:

https://www.economist.com/graphic-detail/2018/11/22/american...

So. Now that I have shown you the evidence about how people in the city are more likely to have attempted to reduce their meat consumption, are you willing to admit that your initial skepticism was completely and totally wrong?

It seemed pretty obvious the the initial conclusion of "people eat less meat in cities" is a true statement. This is due to me have a basic, 101 understanding of how population demographics work, and understanding that people living in a city are more likely to be liberal, and therefore eat less meat.

So, do you understand the evidence now, and why you were completely incorrect to give doubt over such an obviously true conclusion, that anyone with any basic knowledge of demographics would understand?

Nobody needed to give evidence in the first place for this. It is obviously true.

Re: Burger King is rolling out meatless Impossible Whoppers nationwide

#138

Post by rhinoceraptor »

mfatica wrote: post #96
honkycat wrote: post #71

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I am not a vegan. But I do hold a lot of environmental values. There is a LOT of interesting writing on the economy of the meat industrial complex. In essence: It is totally propped up by with subsidies from the US Government. They LOSE money on every cow slaughtered. They destroy our planet. All of the profits go to the billionaire farm owners who lobby to keep the laws in place. It is so horribly corrupt. Personall…

How do local farmers fall into the mix? I buy a cow every year from a local farm - they raise and slaughter the cow and deliver the whole thing butchered and packaged. I much prefer this to anything I could buy at the grocery store.

If the cow was well managed and grazed, it's probably carbon neutral or even a carbon sink.

The grass grows via the sun, the cows eat the grass and leave natural fertilizer, which sequesters carbon when the grass regrows.

Re: Burger King is rolling out meatless Impossible Whoppers nationwide

#139

Post by deanclatworthy »

bifrost wrote: post #27
Consultant32452 wrote: post #3

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Can you be more specific? Are you referring to cheese? Do they cook the burger in animal fat?

I'm referring to the process of cooking it. They don't separate the food and you get cross-contact with meat and dairy proteins - making it non-vegetarian and definately not vegan. This is basically all marketing driven (which is fine) but its not animal-product free, which is what normal people think when they see "plant based" food.

Are you absolutely certain this is the case? The majority of my vegetarian friends would be upset to find their vegetarian dish was contaminated with meat if they ate out in a restaurant. I don't see why it would be any different in BK?
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