Hot Faux Meats: Impossible Burger vs. Beyond Meat Burger
There are plenty of reasons why meat alternatives are being developed. Many consumers pursue vegetarian or vegan lifestyles, and for them a faux meat burger is an alluring option. As well, factory farming practices are terribly inefficient, often cruel, and environmentally devastating, so finding plant alternatives is a logical step. Just to provide some context, National Geographic has estimated that, while freshwater amounts to less than one percent of the water on the planet, nearly three quarters of those reserves go into agricultural production. By some estimates, a single pound of beef requires close to 1800 gallons (while a pound of cheese still requires a formidable 700 gallons). The average American diet depends on 1320 gallons of freshwater each day, but switching to plant-based sources will save tons of water. Quite literally, in fact a ton of water is about 120 gallons.
So, whether your reasons are personal or environmental, or if you’re just curious to try something new, we could all make a difference by embracing faux meats and burger alternatives like the Beyond Meat Burger or the Impossible Burger.
Are Faux Meats Vegan?
In a word, yes. Always check a particular brand’s ingredients and practices, but in the case of the major players, you can usually count on these faux meat products to be vegan. Impossible Foods is confirmed vegan (though in a statement to CNET they did note that animal testing helped evaluate the safety of their heme protein (or soy leghemoglobin -- it’s the protein that helps their Impossible Burger to mimic the taste, texture, and cooking style of red meat.)
Impossible Foods also states that its burger is certified as both kosher and halal, and Beyond Meat has stated that its products are fully certified vegan by the Vegan Action Foundation.
How do Faux Meats Taste?
Great! Well, there’s certainly more to it, but if you’re a fan of burgers, then these are a fantastic experience. While managing to mimic the tooth and experience of a burger, these vegan alternatives are charming on their own merits for those who are looking for a new plant-based culinary experience.
Are Faux Meats Healthy?
Broadly, these meat alternatives are very healthy options. The only real sticking point is the high sodium content (another way to help the products behave like burgers.) These burgers clock in at slightly under 300 calories, with about 20 grams of protein. The Beyond Meat burger has slightly more fat, 20g, over the Impossible Burger’s 14g, but both are essentially comparable.
Both use plant-based ingredients, though the Impossible Burger is better fortified with additional vitamins and minerals. These faux meat burgers make a fine addition to most diets, and despite the sodium, they will help reduce inflammation compared to red meat consumption.
Resources:
Beyond Meat. Beyond Burger. Retrieved August 2019, from: https://www.beyondmeat.com/products/the-beyond-burger/
Impossible Foods. Impossible Burger. Retrieved August 2019 from: https://faq.impossiblefoods.com/hc/en-us/categories/115000924207-IMPOSSIBLE-BURGER
National Geographic. Thirsty Food: Fuelling Agriculture to Fuel Humans. Retrieved August 2019, from https://www.nationalgeographic.com/environment/freshwater/food/
AUTHOR
Dr. Payal Bhandari M.D. is one of U.S.'s top leading integrative functional medical physicians and the founder of SF Advanced Health. She combines the best in Eastern and Western Medicine to understand the root causes of diseases and provide patients with personalized treatment plans that quickly deliver effective results. Dr. Bhandari specializes in cell function to understand how the whole body works. Dr. Bhandari received her Bachelor of Arts degree in biology in 1997 and Doctor of Medicine degree in 2001 from West Virginia University. She the completed her Family Medicine residency in 2004 from the University of Massachusetts and joined a family medicine practice in 2005 which was eventually nationally recognized as San Francisco’s 1st patient-centered medical home. To learn more, go to www.sfadvancedhealth.com.