Critics say trial in Leicester Square is ‘manipulative’ but expert says fast food ideally suited for plant-based dishes
Helena Horton, The Guardian, April 14, 2022
All fast food will eventually become vegan, a leading plant-based restaurateur has said, after Burger King trialled making one of its flagship restaurants completely meat-free.
The Burger King outlet in Leicester Square, London, has been offering only vegan food for a month to test its popularity. This includes a plant-based version of its Whopper burger, as well as a “chicken” katsu burger and vegan nuggets.
Burger King said it would reintroduce meat options at Leicester Square but was exploring rolling out some of the most popular dishes from the trial in branches nationwide. In the meantime, the Vegan Royale, Vegan Nuggets and Plant-based Whopper will remain on the menu across all restaurants as standard, it said.
James Lewis, who works in marketing and product development for the vegan restaurant 123V on Bond Street, London, said this was part of a growing trend….
“Fast food is 100% the best area to switch to vegan,” Lewis said, adding: “The chains are often sneered at by people but they are setting the trends here. There’s no point starting a vegan chain because once McDonald’s figure out how to make a good vegan burger, they will think: ‘What’s the point in the cost of keeping all these animals when we can make it just as good and grow it in the ground?’
“Not too long from now, people will be getting their burger and it’ll be a vegan one and that’ll be the norm and they won’t think any different.”
Burger King has set a target of a 50% meat-free menu by 2030….
[ … Read more at The Guardian ]