McDonald's Is Making a Huge, High Tech Push Into Fake Meats

Get ready for McPlant. No, seriously, that's what they're calling it.

McPlant

Fast food chain McDonald's is making a huge push into plant-based foods with a "platform" it's calling McPlant. New menu items based on it, including a sandwich, will be made available next year, according to USA Today.

"McPlant is crafted exclusively for McDonald’s, by McDonald’s," Ian Borden, McDonald's international president, said during a Monday meeting with investors. "In the future, McPlant could extend across a line of plant-based products including burgers, chicken-substitutes and breakfast sandwiches."

"Markets can adopt the McPlant when they’re ready and we expect some to test the burger next year," reads a press release.

Beyond Beyond Meat

While many restaurant chains have added plant-based protein options to their menus over the past few years, the sheer scale of the McDonald's operation could greatly accelerate the trend.

McDonald's started testing a vegetarian patty made by Beyond Meat, an LA-based plant-based meat producer, at select Canadian restaurants in September 2019. However, share price of Beyond Meat dipped as a result of today's news that McDonald's is bringing the initiative in-house.

Burger King's plant-based Whopper burger, in contrast, uses a patty made by another meat alternative juggernaut, Impossible Foods.

READ MORE: McDonald’s to launch a McPlant vegetarian option [TechCrunch]

More on plant-based meat: This Meaty-Looking “Steak” Is Made From Peas and Seaweed