Wildlife Wednesdays: Plant-Based Burgers Are Saving Wildlife
Since 2019, plant-based burgers started to pop up in fast food restaurants such as Burger King, who has the Impossible Whopper, to Dunkin Donuts. The response was positive and overwhelming, and even meat-eaters were ordering these plant-based burgers. More and more fast food places are following in their footsteps and releasing plant-based burgers and sandwiches, such as Carl's Jr, who has a plant-based burger, and even Little Caesars, which has a plant-based option for pizza! The leading producers of meatless products used by fast food chains are Impossible Foods and Beyond Meat.
Last year, around 250,000 animals were saved due to the popularity of the plant-based products. According to Ben Williamson, Program Director of World Animal Protection US, said "This may sound like a lot, but it is a fraction of the 120 million pigs and 30 million cows killed for food in the United States every year and sold in grocery stores, supermarkets, and other food service industries." He further mentions that, between Impossible Foods and Beyond Meat, with estimated sales in national chain restaurants, around 140,000 pigs and 100,000 cows will be saved each year!
Williamson said that, in 2019, introducing meatless burgers and sausages were the main focus. In 2020, the main focus will include saving the lives of chicken and fish as well. "The next generation of available plant-based products will focus on chicken and fish and because these are smaller animals, they are processed in significantly higher numbers, this is when we’ll really see the numbers soar,” stated Williamson. He speculates that restaurants will roll out their own version of plant-based options as we head through the year.
“Each of these statistics represents an animal’s life saved from factory farms; being spared from painful mutilations like teeth clipping, tail docking, and castration, as well as a life spent in cruel confinement. By consuming fewer animal-based meats, we are able to free up resources to move to higher welfare production and improve the lives of billions of farmed animals,” concluded Williamson.
