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Bareburger Is Eliminating Some Exotic Meat Patties in Favor of Plant-Based Options

Tehrene Firman

March 1, 2018

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Photo: Instagram/@beyondmeat

Ditching meat isn't just a fad—at least as far as one international burger chain is concerned. Between veganism topping lists that highlight both food trends and consumer tendencies, a consistent spike in interest on Google trends, and a 600 percent growth in Americans who identify as vegans, it's safe to say the future is looking very plant-based. And that's largely why better-for-you burger joint Bareburger, known for its wide selection of exotic meat offerings, wanted to be at the forefront of the shift.

Last year, the Impossible Burger became a permanent addition to Bareburger's menu, and as of this week, Beyond Meat's Beyond Burger is officially at all Bareburger locations, too. The plant-based addition led the company to rethink some of its former offerings.

"As part of Bareburger's new motto, we've reduced the exotic meats on our menus. We used to have elk, wild boar, and lamb; those things are gone now. In replacement of those, you'll see Beyond Meat and Impossible." —Jonathan Lemon, culinary director of Bareburger

"As part of Bareburger's new motto, we've reduced the exotic meats on our menus. We used to have elk, wild boar, and lamb; those things are gone now," Jonathan Lemon, culinary director of Bareburger, said at an event in New York City. "In replacement of those, you'll see Beyond Meat and Impossible. You'll also see many other plant-based options creeping into our menus as we move forward in the future and try to be ahead of the curve and be sustainable and reduce our carbon footprint."

While Lemon maintained that customers are loving the menu shift, it does seem a bit redundant to offer two plant-based burgers on the menu, right? Well, both options look, feel, and taste a whole lot like real meat, but they do differ in nutritional profile and how they're made.

The Impossible Burger patty—which has 220 calories, 13 grams of fat, and 20 grams of protein—includes ingredients like wheat protein, coconut oil, potato protein, and heme made from plants and produce, which gives it the taste and aroma of meat since heme is also abundant in animal muscle. The Beyond Burger patty, on the other hand, has 290 calories, 22 grams of fat, and 20 grams of protein and is made using pea protein, coconut oil, and beet juice, which makes it "bleed" like real meat.

The Beyond Burger is also non-GMO, which was a priority for Ethan Brown, founder and CEO of Beyond Meat, when creating it. "I really handicapped our scientists by saying they can’t use GMOs or anything that’s artificial," Brown said at the event. "GMOs would be the easier way to get some of the impact we want in a product. As a consumer, you can decide if you want a GMO product or a non-GMO product—some are okay with that and some aren’t."

No matter your patty preference, grabbing a vegan burger is proving to be easier than ever: Not only are these two plant-based options good choices health-wise, as they're free from cholesterol, antibiotics, and hormones, but they're also environmentally friendly.

Here's how one superstar vegan chef is making Southern food healthy. Or, find out how to enjoy a classic, cheesy Italian dish the vegan way.