--- title: "McDonald’s Is Making a Huge, High Tech Push Into Fake Meats" description: "McDonalds is launching a plant-based platform called McPlant. Menu items based on the platform, including a sandwich, will be made available next year." date: "2020-11-09" modified: "2020-11-09" authors: - name: "Victor Tangermann" job_title: "Senior Editor" link: "https://futurism.com/authors/victor" url: "https://futurism.com/the-byte/mcdonalds-plant-based-mcplant" categories: - "Science & Energy" tags: - "beyond meat" - "McDonald's" - "plant-based meat" - "the digest" --- # McDonald’s Is Making a Huge, High Tech Push Into Fake Meats ![McDonalds is launching a plant-based platform called McPlant. Menu items based on the platform, including a sandwich, will be made available next year.]() *\Image: McDonalds\* ## 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]()* ## 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]()