100% USDA Grade A Bull Part I
I’m calling it now, the official word of 2019 is, “fake.” It seems I hear this word on a daily basis. Our president is constantly tweeting about fake news, young girls are constantly calling each other fake and, in the agricultural industry, we’re constantly discussing the topic of fake meat.
Fake meat is a current hot button issue among the food science and ag industries as well as animal rights activists and vegans. In 2019, food is more accommodating to vegans than it has ever been before. Grocery stores have entire aisles dedicated to gluten free snacks; Cookies trays at events are labeled with “contains dairy;” Customers can purchase the “Impossible™ Whopper®,” at Burger King.
The Impossible™ Whopper® is a play on the original Burger King Whopper. It’s like a traditional Whopper®, but the patty is made of Impossible™ beef which is part of the Impossible™ Foods company. I visited the Impossible™ Foods website to do a little research into the company.
Impossible™ Food’s mission statement is as follows: “…But using animals to make meat is a prehistoric and destructive technology. Animal agriculture occupies almost half the land on earth, consumes a quarter of our freshwater and destroys our ecosystems. So, we’re doing something about it: we’re making meat using plants, so that we never have to use animals again. That way, we can eat all the meat we want, for as long as we want. And save the best planet in the known universe.”
We visited this issue in my first column, but I’m going to reiterate it again: Agriculture is not destroying the planet — agriculture is feeding the planet. Yes, Animal Agriculture does contribute to major issues such as fresh water shortage, greenhouse gas emission and deforestation but it is not the only (or even leading in some cases) cause.
According to The National Resources Defense Council, surface water is pumped into 60 percent of America’s homes.
According to NASA, human activities are changing Earth’s natural greenhouse gases and by burning fossil fuels such as coal or oil, we have increased the concentration of atmospheric carbon dioxide.
According to the Union of Concerned Scientists, the biggest benefactors of deforestations are beef, soy, palm oil and wood.
Did you catch that second item on the list? Soy. Now check out what Impossible™ Foods claims is in the Impossible™ Whopper®.
100% WHOPPER®
0% BEEF
According to Impossible™ Foods, “The Impossible™ Whopper® is just like the classic Whopper® but made with an Impossible™ patty made from plants. What's in the patty? Mostly soy protein, potato protein, coconut oil, sunflower oil, and heme.”
So just so we’re all on the same page here: Impossible™ Foods’ mission is to diminish animal agriculture because it is bad for the environment. However, one of the leading causes of deforestation is the clearing of land to cultivate one of the key ingredients in Impossible™ meat? Something about this is not sitting right with me — and it’s not the thought of consuming an Impossible™ Whopper®.
Switching gears a little here, I would like to talk about the concept of eating whole foods. Whole foods are food products which are free of additives — such as fresh produce, eggs or meat. Eating “whole” has recently gained popularity due to the “Whole 30” diet which is essentially a 30-day challenge to only eat whole foods. Personally, I’ve done the Whole 30 diet before and loved it. Not only did I shed a few pounds, but I was sleeping better and had more energy. I’m a big advocate for eating whole, so when I heard of the Impossible™ Whopper®, I was a little curious.
Evidently, some others were curious about the ingredients in the Impossible™ Whopper® as well. In Corbitt Wall’s Feeder Flash update for September 13, 2019, he discussed a display set up at the Mo-Kan Livestock Market sale barn by Mo-Kan Livestock Market owner Jim Hertzog. The display contains an Impossible™ Whopper® with all its ingredients.
Photo courtesy of Katie Hertzog.
I was shocked when I saw all the ingredients together. I knew the ingredient list for the Impossible™ Whopper® fake meat patty was a mile long and contained some questionable items but seeing it all together, man… that put some things into perspective for me.
Why would anyone put something containing 15-plus ingredients and additives into their body when you could just eat something containing ONE ingredient:100 percent beef?
If you look into any trusted research regarding animal agriculture’s environmental impact, you soon realize that eating Impossible™ meat isn’t helping the environment – it’s actually contributing to more environmental destruction. If you look at the ingredient list, you will see multiple man-made ingredients and additives. If you’re not eating this for the environment or for the health benefits, then why do it? Is it for the taste?
I hypothesize an Impossible™ Whopper® probably wouldn’t taste much different than a traditional Whopper® because of the way Burger King cooks their burgers paired with the sauces and other traditional Whopper® items. But I wonder…would a plain and dry burger made from Impossible™ meat taste any different than the traditional beef burger I know and love? Join me (along with a handful of others) next week, as we blind taste-test a homemade Impossible™ burger and a 100 percent beef burger.
