--- title: "Impossible Burger 2.0: “I Couldn’t Tell It Wasn’t The Real Thing”" description: "California-based meat substitute company Impossible Foods plans to sell raw \"meat\" in grocery stores by the end of the year." date: "2019-01-08" modified: "2019-01-08" authors: - name: "Victor Tangermann" job_title: "Senior Editor" link: "https://futurism.com/authors/victor" url: "https://futurism.com/impossible-burger-2-0" categories: - "Artificial Intelligence" tags: - "artificial meat" - "impossible burger" - "impossible foods" --- # Impossible Burger 2.0: “I Couldn’t Tell It Wasn’t The Real Thing” ![California-based meat substitute company Impossible Foods plans to sell raw "meat" in grocery stores by the end of the year.]() *\Image: Impossible Foods\* ## Perfecting a Substitute Slightly pink on the inside, a lightly flame-charred exterior, and plenty of runny juices — the perfect hamburger is a marvel to behold. But does a cow have to suffer for you to enjoy one? California-based plant-based meat substitute company Impossible Foods has a definitive answer to that: absolutely not. The company is inching closer to becoming indistinguishable from the real thing with its brand-new 2.0 burger revealed today at the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in Las Vegas. "I couldn't tell it wasn't the real thing," [wrote]() *CNET*'s Dara Kerr, who tasted the new burger. ## Raw Fake Meat Impossible Foods' technology is called "heme," an iron-carrying molecule that the company claims is what gives meat its distinctive flavor. Its Impossible Burger is now on sale at [over 5,000 restaurants](), including chains like White Castle, just over two years after the company's founding. Alongside its new burger, Impossible Foods [announced today]() it is planning to sell its plant-based meat substitute "meat" in grocery stores across the country by the end of 2019 — a big step for the burgeoning industry. And Impossible isn't the only player in the high tech meat substitute game. Other companies, like Beyond Meat, have also extended offerings to grocery stores, like Beyond's plant-protein-isolates-based [Beyond Meat burger](). ## For a Price But as with most things in life, it all comes down to the price. According to *CNET,* the price of Impossible Food's new 2.0 burger will "be about the same as USDA premium ground beef." Nonetheless, the better the options, the more likely it is that the trend will actually catch on. And that's inherently a good thing: there's plenty of evidence that the industrial meat industry is [terrible for our planet](). **READ MORE:** [Impossible Burger 2.0 tastes like beef. Really]() \[*CNET*\] ***More on fake meat:* [McDonald’s Exec: “We’re Keeping Our Eye” on Meatless Burgers]()** ## Author I've been at Futurism since 2017, where my role has evolved to encompass design, writing, and increasingly editing. I've always been fascinated by space exploration and advanced transportation, which I've leaned into by interviewing luminaries in those fields while closely following the dimensions of policy and regulation that allow next-generation projects to succeed -- or, sometimes, to fail. I'm also keenly interested in the effects of generative AI on society, policies, and democratic institutions, as well as clean energy, physics and biology, and the vagaries of tech leadership. My work for Futurism has been cited by publications including Ars Technica, Gizmodo, PC Magazine, Jalopnik, Fox News, and the New York Post. I spent my childhood living in locations including Manila, the Philippines, and Geneva, Switzerland, attended McGill University, and now live in Toronto, Canada. Before Futurism I worked at AskMen and a small photography studio. In my free time, I'm an avid gardener, foodie, and craft beer lover, as well as a maker of artisanal hot pepper sauces. I have a magnificent dog named Freida. ### Author social links [Bluesky]()