Available only in one city in southern Finland, for now, McDonald’s is going to be trialing a soy-based McVegan sandwich, aiming to take advantage of the 360% growth of veganism the past decade.
Apparently, they already have a vegetarian option on the regular menu in India, called the McVeggie.
While I’m not a fan of McD’s in any way, it’s great that they’re aiming to take mainstream niche (and healthier) trends – although soy is not nearly as sustainable as edible insects.
The test-run started on October 4 and residents of the Finnish city Tampere have until November 21 to sample the McVegan. A representative for McDonald’s told TODAY that the meatless burger “is limited to McDonald’s Finland and there are no current plans for that to change.”
While health aficionados may mock this as a bit of a joke, considering McDonald’s is considered by many to be “not even real food”, it’s actually extremely beneficial when massive companies make headlines for innovations such as this.
Eventually, a big company like McDonald’s or Kraft foods is going to jump on the Entomophagy bandwagon – and when that happens, the measured upward growth the industry is experiencing today will likely go parabolic.
According to Food & Wine, “Americans, for example, are now substituting non-meat protein into meals at least once a week, and 22% say they’re doing it more than they had the year before. While growing awareness of how meat affects the world are no doubt a part of why, the fact that vegan meat-substitutes taste so much better than they have in the past can’t hurt, either.”
But if you had a choice, would you prefer lab-created veggie “meat” patties, like the Beyond Burger or Impossible Burger, or naturally produced edible insects?
There’s a place for both in a more sustainable world, but considering that insects are naturally high in vitamins and minerals that a normal plant-based vegan diet lacks, it might be a good idea to take some cricket protein powder with you to sprinkle on this “burger” if you’re heading to Finland!
Because there’s no better way to supplement a vegan diet than edible insects – bugs have all the protein, vitamin B12, omega-3’s, calcium, iron, and more that you need and don’t get from plants.
