Beyond Impossible

Perhaps you have noticed in the supermarket two new plant-based meat alternatives.  One, Beyond Meat and the other, Impossible Burger.  Burger King now offers an “Impossible Whopper”, and McDonalds has tested a Beyond Meat burger in Canadian markets.  KFC has experimented with a Beyond fried chicken too.  Its popularity is growing because unlike traditional vegetarian burgers, these products taste very much like meat. I am certain you will be seeing it offered at many other restaurants soon. 

The additional appeals are that these products will result in a reduction in the environmental stressors in raising beef and chickens, and appeal to people with a conscious awareness about the harvesting of those animals.  A video with a spokesperson for Impossible Burger claims that this alternative meat source will result in 75% less water usage and generate 87% less greenhouse gases from the elimination of methane released from cows and require 95% less land compared to the production of equal amounts of conventional ground beef from cows all while providing adequate protein for us.  That sounds great but is this true?

Nutritional Comparisons

Here is a comparison between the Impossible Burger and Beyond Burger:

The Beyond Meat burger is soy free and gluten free (without a bun).  The Impossible burger is not. However, the other ingredients are basically equal to the Impossible Burger in terms of protein, fat, fiber, and sodium.

The actual ingredients in each break down more specifically in this diagram.

If we look deeper at some of the ingredients in both we see wheat and soy as the main protein in the Impossible Burger and pea protein isolate as the main protein in the Beyond Burger.  Soy is GMO (genetically modified) ....