Fake meat is all the rage

Vegetarian versions of meat products are nothing new. The Boca Burger has been around since the late 70s, and even tofurkey has been around since 1995. But no one who had ever eaten meat would confuse these analogs for the real thing. Recent technology advancements, however, have resulted in products that are much closer in appearance, texture, and flavor to their original, meat form — most notably Beyond Meat and Impossible Foods. And they’re going global with rollouts in several major fast-food chains: KFC has tested Beyond Fried Chicken; White Castle sells Impossible Burgers at all locations; and Burger King has rolled out the Impossible Whopper where GMO labeling and testing is not required. But there are more companies doing this, beyond Beyond and Impossible. Since Impossible meat isn’t allowed in Europe (because of its GMO nature, it needs to go through a testing process, and in most European countries will need to be labeled even after that), Burger King launched the Rebel Whopper, using a meat analog from Dutch startup the Vegetarian Butcher. Keep your eyes on this space, as there are both likely to be many more startups entering the fray, as well as much brouhaha over the GMO status of each, and/or their inclusion of Monsanto chemicals.

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