Meet the Vegan burger that may change the world as we know it

Cross-posted from One Green Planet

Just looking at that burger picture makes me feel sick to my stomach. I eat veggie burgers because I want the veggies in a fun and easy way — not because I want a replacement for a hamburger. Still, this will appeal to a great many people and therefore save a great many lives, so I am all for it. —Ed.

It’s been over a year since Impossible Foods first revealed plans for the Impossible Burger, a plant-based meat patty that cooks, smells, tastes, and even “bleeds” like real meat.

Now, the company is finally ready to roll out their impressive product. Unlike the folks over at Beyond Meat, who have recently launched their own meaty Beast Burger in grocery stores, Impossible Burger will make its debut in restaurants, starting in San Francisco, Los Angeles, and New York this July.

The Impossible Burger aims to emulate meat in a way no other plant-based patty has before. While some other burgers turn to veggies as a light, nutritious base, the Impossible Burger goes slightly more scientific with their approach. They simulate beef fat with coconut oil, use potato proteins to create that familiar crust that meat forms when it is seared, and use “heme,” a compound extracted from yeast that gives color to red meat. The result? A burger so realistic, it almost gives you that uneasy “uncanny valley” feeling, primarily felt when viewing robot androids.

Impossible Foods isn’t just trying to revolutionize food just for the sake of taste, though. Their meatless beef burger contains more protein than a regular burger, without the cholesterol, hormones, or antibiotics. This essentially gives consumers the taste they crave in a much healthier form, something that could have an amazing impact on public health, and could help tackle the obesity and heart disease epidemic in the U.S. and around the world.

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