With Veganuary well underway, plant-based diets and dishes are firmly in the spotlight. A recent study from the Vegan Society revealed that there are around 600,000 vegans now living in Britain alone, meaning that meat-free meals are increasingly on the agenda. Small wonder that fast food businesses are muscling in on the market. 

Last year saw famous brands like KFC and McDonald’s announce plans for vegan-friendly products to appeal to this growing demographic. Now, at the start of a new decade, Burger King appears to have joined the movement with the release of their Rebel Whopper. However, as quickly became abundantly clear, all was not as it seemed with the plant-based dish. 

Despite being made with a meat-free patty, it was soon revealed that the sandwich is surprisingly “not suitable” for vegans and vegetarians. According to a report by the BBC, the “soy-based version of (the) Whopper burger is cooked on the same grill as meat burgers”, meaning that it has contact with the meaty patties that it is intended to replace. To top it off, the Rebel is also served with egg-based mayonnaise. 

Watch as boy pledges to donate $1 million to veterans if Trump can go vegan for a month:

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The revelations around the dish’s cooking method prompted an almost immediate backlash on social media. Several accused the brand of “jumping on the bandwagon” of veganism, while Lifestyle blogger Donna Wishart wrote on Twitter:

“And it’s served with mayonnaise with eggs in. When every other fast food company is delivering actual vegan products it’s such a shame Burger King can’t be bothered to do the same.”

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Sam Calvert, head of communications at the Vegan Society, echoed these claims, stating that the decision to not make the new burger vegan "seems a missed opportunity" and that products like vegan mayonnaise are “readily available” and used by competitors.

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Though the backlash was severe, Burger King quickly issued a response. Katie Evans, marketing director for the brand, said the burger was aimed at "flexitarians" and was intended to recreate Burger King’s "flame-grilled taste" as closely as possible. 

Perhaps surprisingly, Toni Vernelli, international head of communications and marketing at Veganuary, also rejected the idea that the brand was attempting to "capitalize on the vegan pound", insisting that "increasing the availability of plant-based options" was ultimately the best way to reduce overall meat consumption.

This article originally appeared on TwistedFood.co.uk

A generation ago, a diet existing entirely of plant matter would be the saddest thing imaginable. Your every meal would be populated by tons of salads, carrot dogs and indiscriminate blocks of soy, enough to drive even the staunchest animal rights activist to the nearest Burger King in search of proper nourishment.

If you've been on the fence about turning vegan, then there's no better time to get into it than now, especially if you live in a big city. It's never been more popular to ditch animal products altogether, and if you're anything like me and the thought of not getting to eat pizza or ice cream is unpalatable to you, then there's plenty of vegan alternatives that taste nearly the same.

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Yes, modern science has made it a lot easier to be a vegan, but sometimes, as Jurassic Park showed us all those years ago, science goes way too far, leaving us all in mortal peril as a consequence. Vegan pizza is a delicious way to try and play God, but I fear we may have gone too far in our pursuit of a world where even our meat is meat-free.

Soy or seitan both make really good meat substitutes for when you're a vegan and you want something more substantial for your dinner. That being said, they don't look enough like meat to satisfy that primal lust for animal flesh that is buried deep in the subconscious of every human being.

That's the only explanation I can find for this monstrosity of a vegan brisket, put together by Kevin Biegel, who is a vegan, amateur food scientist and almost certainly a future Spider-Man villain. He posted pictures of his vegan brisket to Twitter, where for some reason, meat lovers were particularly upset to come across it on their feeds.

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"Vegan brisket experiment was a success!" says Biegel in his tweet, with accompanying photo that shows off the vegan brisket. The vegan brisket in question looks just enough like a slab of meat that it's kind of unsettling to look at - a veritable Uncanny Valley of meat and its various alternatives.

Biegel also took the time to tell us how he made it, so we can make one of these at home, should we want to. "18 hour smoke over oak. Is it beef? Nope. But the taste/texture are pretty great. Mix of jackfruit, seitan, miso, beer, Franklin BBQ sauce made w extra sugar so it carmalized to a crust — and it did! Plus I don’t feel gross after eating it!"

You should probably feel a little gross after eating that, Kevin, and Twitter tends to agree.

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Though, a pinch of salt to go with this hot take on vegan brisket - isn't... isn't this the kind of blind vitriol we give vegans a lot of flak for on social media? Are... are we hypocrites?

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Well, I didn't think about that at all. Maybe in the future, we should be a lot more accepting of other people's dietary choices. Although this is a lot more fun.

This year, fast food franchises around the world have been scrambling over each other to lead the pack in plant-based produce. Already, we’ve seen giants like KFC and Burger King go toe to toe with their “Beyond Fried Chicken” and “Impossible Whopper”, respectively. As the customers have rolled in, it looks increasingly likely that meatless dining will be the future of the industry. But, despite the media storm, one industry leader has held back from entering the fray. Until now. 

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After observing the attention showered upon their rivals, McDonald’s has finally unveiled plans for a plant-based burger of their own. In a Twitter announcement, the company revealed that they will be testing their sandwich, dubbed the “PLT”, at 28 locations, starting from September 30th. Although it will only be available in Southern Ontario, the announcement is certainly a statement of intent from one of the world’s biggest fast food businesses.

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In a press release accompanying the news, McDonalds’ VP of global menu strategy, Ann Wahlgren, revealed:

"McDonald’s has a proud legacy of fun, delicious and craveable food—and now, we’re extending that to a test of a juicy, plant-based burger. We’ve been working on our recipe and now we’re ready to hear feedback from our customers."

"During this test, we’re excited to hear what customers love about the P.L.T. to help our global markets better understand what’s best for their customers. This test allows us to learn more about (the) real-world implications of serving the P.L.T., including customer demand and impact on restaurant operations.”

Check out our recipe for a Giant Meatless BBQ Quesadilla Burger:

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While veggies and vegans might be licking their lips at the prospect of the P.L.T, there have been some suggestions that the sandwich may have a downside. According to Metro, the meatless patties will be cooked on the same grill as the rest of the McDonald’s menu, meaning that they will no-longer be entirely meat-free by the time they make it to the customer.

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This was confirmed by McDonald’s Canada’s official Twitter account, who responded to a query, “No, our plant-based patty will be cooked on the same grill as other burgers, meat-based products and eggs.” Time will tell whether this issue ultimately affects the P.L.T’s success.

This article originally appeared on twistedfood.co.uk

McDonald's has announced that it will soon be launching its meat-free McPlant burger.

Vegans rejoice! Because McDonald's has become the latest fast-food chain to launch a meat-free alternative on its menu. The revolutionary McPlant burger contains a patty that replicates the taste, texture, and look of beef.

The plant-based patty will be accompanied by a vegan sesame bun, mustard, ketchup, vegan sauce, onion, pickles, lettuce, tomato, and vegan cheese. Additionally, the patty will be cooked on a separate grill from other McDonald's burgers and employees will handle the sandwich and its ingredients with dedicated utensils.

Launching in the UK, the McPlant will first be available at 10 restaurants in Coventry from September 29.

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It will then be rolled out at another 250 stores from October 13, before hopefully being a national staple by next year.

The price of the burger will be just £3.49 ($4.82), which is around the same price as a single Big Mac.

Per Daily Mail, McDonald’s UK and Ireland chief marketing officer Michelle Graham-Clare said of the launch: "We’re so pleased to be finally launching McPlant in the UK and Ireland.

"As with every McDonald’s offering, we take our time to ensure it meets the highest standards and is something that all our customers will enjoy.

"We are always looking for different ways to innovate and meet our customers’ needs, and with McPlant we have a delicious plant-based burger that will appeal to everyone.

"Whether you’re vegan or just fancy a plant-based patty, we’re confident you will enjoy the McPlant."

The Daily Mail reports that the McPlant is the first in a line of meat-free alternatives coming to the popular chain. Plant-based alternatives to McDonald's chicken nuggets and breakfast sausage muffins are also in the works.

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McDonald's UK & Ireland reportedly spent three years developing the new burger - which was created in development with LA-based plant-based pioneers Beyond Meat.

Beyond Meat's Ethan Brown said of the partnership with McDonald's: "We will combine the power of Beyond Meat's relentless approach to innovation with the strength of McDonald's global brand to introduce new plant-based menu items."

As well as vegans, the McPlant will also be aimed at flexitarians - individuals who choose to opt for more meat-free alternatives.

McDonald's own Francesca DeBiase said the launch was "all about giving customers more choices", adding: "We're excited to work with Beyond Meat to drive innovation and this is an important step on our journey to bring high-quality, plant-based menu items to our customers."

So, will you be trying the McPlant? Let us know in the comments!

Featured image credit: Alamy / Peter Scholey

Seemingly every other week, there's a new diet making the rounds on social media, promising to help us shed the pounds without all that insane discipline or compromising too much in terms of deliciousness. It's a tricky balancing act, and there's a ton of people out there peddling different types of food discipline.

Alongside the vegetarians, vegans and the regular meat eaters, we've got the more left-field eaters who employ a different way to diet. We're talking pescatarians, we're talking about the keto diet and the Atkins diet, we might even be talking about the carnivore diet. But have you ever heard of a flexitarian?

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I hadn't either, but once you figure out what it is, you'll realise you might have been one all along. According to registered dietitian Dawn Jackson Blatner, the newest diet is one you're very familiar with.

"'Flexitarianism' is the hot new term for healthy dieting that minimizes meat without excluding it altogether. This is an inclusive eating plan, meaning it does not take away foods but rather adds new foods to those you already eat. The Flexitarian Diet gradually guides you to eat more veggies while still enjoying your favorite meats."

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Now, I don't know about you, but I feel as if we're already really familiar with the flexitarian diet. The way it's described, it's a combination of eating meat with vegetables and other non-meat products. It... it sounds a lot like... just being an omnivore.

But even so, that's not stopped some food brands from jumping on the trend, and producing some flexitarian menu foods. One such brand is the budget favourite Aldi, who made the rounds last week for producing a 'flexitarian' burger, but not everyone's exactly what you'd call "on board".

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Okay, so above you should be able to spot the flexitarian burger, made with what looks to be fresh British beef. But one angry vegan is slamming Aldi for their newest store item. Laura Paterson posted an astonishing rant about Aldi flexitarian burgers on Facebook, letting everyone know exactly how she felt about flexitarianism.

"Are you taking the mickey? Is this for real? Flexitarian is not a thing. You either eat meat or you don't. Don't use Flexitarian as a poxy bit of advertising to flog your products. It's a meat burger and that's all there is to it. You've got this very wrong."

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"If you're eating meat, technically you're an omnivore," she added, but the 44-year-old vegan got smacked down on the social media post, with other people labelling her a "ranting hysterical bore". This from user Robert John:

"Surely you should be encouraging people to try this diet rather than pushing them straight to veganism where ranting like a hysterical bore becomes a massive side effect!"

Yeah, it didn't take very long for things to descend into a flame war, this being the internet and all. But at least we've got a new way to eat that can help us to feel better about our dieting choices. Well, if we could stop arguing about it, that is...