![]() ![]() ![]() If chains like Burger King and White Castle have shown success in replacing highly processed meat products with plant-based alternatives, then a fake-meat chicken nugget could be a gold mine for fast-food brands. Huge crowds that gathered for Beyond Fried Chicken tests this summer tended to agree: The nuggets are good. Early reviews of the spiced and sauced nuggets (they come in options like honey barbecue, buffalo, and Nashville hot) are solid: “It tastes like a doggone piece of chicken,” writes Fast Company’s Mark Wilson - the “meat” even gently flakes and shreds. ![]() Beyond Fried Chicken, a collaboration between Beyond Meat and KFC, is described as something between a traditional chicken nugget and a KFC “boneless wing,” but made from plants - reportedly soy and wheat - and it’s now available at 100 KFC locations in Charlotte, North Carolina and Nashville, Tennessee, with a national rollout likely to follow. At least some degree of change in our diets is necessary to curb emissions and fight climate change, and there are worse things than an imitation chicken nugget that is “nearly indistinguishable” from the real thing.The fast-food chicken nugget, a paragon of processed food, is finally poised to transcend its animal origins: Almost a year after Burger King rolled out its plant-based Impossible Whopper, Kentucky Fried Chicken becomes the first major fast-food chain to introduce a plant-based chicken product to its stores. But broadly speaking, eating less meat is a good thing. The mass production of fake meat is sure to present its own issues both in the treatment of workers and in its implications for the environment. Pandemic-era supply chain issues and labor shortages have pushed up the price of chicken and other meat, incentivizing major food businesses to invest in non-meat options. Then again, Ho points out that, compared to the shaped-then-fried meat paste currently sold as nuggets at most fast food chains, the meat-free version is “nearly indistinguishable from what food manufacturers do to make the nuggets that animals die for already.”Ĭompanies like Burger King aren’t just adding these products to their menus because it’s better for the planet or requires slaughtering less animals. In the case of the Impossible nugget, San Francisco Chronicle restaurant critic Soleil Ho says they “sort of taste like chicken,” and have no aftertaste, which feels like a pretty low bar. In the grand scheme of things, these lab-grown meat substitutes are still new to the scene, and each product launch leaves diners wondering how much it will taste like the real once-living deal. Plenty of companies have, for years, been making imitation chicken nuggets using plant protein but these products, however delicious some of them are, don’t tend to precisely imitate the taste and texture of chicken in the way that food-tech companies are aiming for. Impossible Foods only recently introduced a pork product, and it was just last year that KFC debuted vegan chicken nuggets in collaboration with Beyond Meat. Though some form of lab-made beef imitation is relatively easy to find on chain menus and on grocery store shelves, lab-made imitations of pork and chicken are still a relatively new addition. The nuggets aren’t yet available nationwide, according to CNBC, but starting Monday, October 11, customers in Des Moines, Iowa, Boston and Miami can get their hands on the meat-free nugs. Now Burger King, which introduced Impossible Whoppers nationwide in 2019 - and faced controversy after one New York store actually served beef patties in place of the vegetarian option (oops) - is the first fast food chain introducing diners to Impossible Foods’ meatless nuggets. has a burger made with a Beyond patty and White Castle does an Impossible slider. ![]() At Starbucks, there’s a breakfast sandwich made with Impossible sausage. At this point, you can find some sort of lab-grown (non-meat) meat at most fast food chains and major cafes, with one glaring exception. ![]()
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