Now that every major fast food chain on the planet seems to have introduced a vegan option, McDonald’s is finally getting with the times. Want to eat at the golden arches without making some animal pay for it? Meet McPlant.
“We have created a delicious burger that will be the first menu option in a plant-based platform,” said Ian Borden, president of McDonald’s International. The fast food giant has tested a plant-based burger in Canada and may eventually add faux meat breakfast sandwiches and mock chicken to the menu.
Related: What Taco Bell’s menu changes mean for fast food-loving vegans
McPlant’s exact composition is elusive. Borden said McPlant is “crafted exclusively for McDonald’s, by McDonald’s,” according to Fast Company, but the patty was co-created with Beyond Meat. That partnership may or may not be continuing.
Can McPlant help turn the tide against an ever-growing global meat demand? The fast food restaurant is, after all, one of the world’s biggest beef buyers. “This represents a significant milestone,” Zach Weston, foodservice and supply chain manager at the Good Food Institute, told Fast Company. “McDonald’s brand is iconic and global, and the scale at which they operate is unsurpassed.”
With the vegan burger’s provenance unknown, much of the internet has focused on the new sandwich’s name, and not in a good way. “McPlant” has been called stupid and unoriginal, with many catchier options suggested. But it has advantages. For any vegan who’s ever been terrified their order will be misheard and soon they’ll be chowing down on a pig or cow, the name McPlant will be like a security blanket. “McPlant” sounds nothing like Big Mac, Chicken McNuggets or Snack Wrap, some of the restaurant’s top selling items. But we’ll have to wait until next year to find out how it tastes. McPlant will start popping up on McDonald’s menus in 2021.
Via Eater and Fast Company
Image via McDonald’s
