Could Fast Food Save the Planet?

It’s become a well-known fact that billionaire Warren Buffett starts off each

morning at the McDonald’s drive-through. His choice of breakfast? Bacon,

egg, and cheese biscuit if stocks are up and two sausage patties if they are

down. Buffett isn’t alone, roughly 36% of Americans eat fast food every day,

according to the CDC. With the recent surge of interest in plant-based meat

products from long-established fast-food chains, we have to ask whether or not fast food could save the planet?

Why Does My Fast-Food Diet Concern You?

Up until about 2018, academic literature and news headlines were dominated by the impact of fast food on health

and obesity highlighted by popular movies such as Morgan Spurlock’s Supersize Me, but the tide has steadily

begun to shift. Now, more than ever, we are preoccupied with our environmental impact while struggling to combat

a lifetime of addiction to highly saturated fatty, salty, and sugary foods. In addition to fighting against the

overwhelming pleasure signals in our brains from these foods (which “adapts and makes more receptors for

dopamine,” creating an addiction like dependency — we need more and more of the same substance to receive

the same pleasure originally derived), we are facing an industry deeply entrenched in politics, subsidies,

monopolies, and lobbyists which have no real motivation to change their course swiftly.

Roughly 50 billion burgers are consumed each year in the United States, or 2.4 burgers per day per person,

according to the USDA. (At the time of publication, the exact data for beef dedicated to the fast-food industry could

not be found however, national McDonald’s burger estimates are around 2.36 billion burgers annually) Followed

by China, the EU, Brazil, and India, the United States still remains the largest consumer of beef products. Breaking

it down, American beef has a greater greenhouse gas emissions impact than the entire country of the Netherlands.

By replacing every single burger with a plant-based option such as the

Beyond Meat product, we would see a reduction of approximately 90 percent

water and land usage as well as a sharp reduction of global greenhouse

gases, according to a recent Wired article. It’s well known that shifting towards

a predominantly plant-based diet will help bring us closer to mitigating the climate crisis.

The Rise of Plant-Based Fast Food

Fast food establishments have been around for over a century, with British fish and chips shops being some of the

first. It wasn’t until the rise of the American highway system that we saw a boom in what is now considered

modern-day fast-food restaurants. Since then, these iconic companies have been serving up nutrient deficient and

environmentally extractive foods we’ve come to depend on.

Surprisingly, plant-based meats have been around for roughly the same length of time. In 1896 John Harvey

Kellogg, the very same Kellogg of Kellogg cereals, introduced a peanut-based meatless “meat. ” Since then, many

became interested in creating their own version of a vegan burger, but it wasn’t until 1984 that the first frozen

plant-based burger became commercially available in the United Kingdom: the VegeBurger. With manufacturers

seeing the popularity of these alternatives, it was only a matter of time until plant-based meat alternatives made

their way into one of the most consumed food sources — fast food.

Nationally, Burger King was the first to adopt a plant-based meat alternative onto their menu: the BK veggie burger

in 2002. (In 2012, McDonald’s debuted the McVeggie but with little success.) Other chains have rolled out limited

options in specific geographic areas for “testing,” including Domino’s Beyond Sausage Pizza which was

discontinued shortly thereafter. Chris Kempczinski, McDonald’s Chief Executive Officer, said, “plant-based

products are an ongoing consumer trend. ” But data tells us otherwise. Plant-based meat alternatives aren’t just a

Who Really Cares?

A 2019 study found that 23% to 35% of participants were aware of the impact

meat consumption had on the environment partially due to the fact that a majority

of Americans see the direct impact of climate change. A 2020 Pew Research Poll

found that most participants don’t think the government is doing enough to tackle the crisis, and when it comes to

an industry that has its hooks into politics, it may not be all that surprising animal agriculture has been left out of

climate discussions until very recently.

As plant-based meat options become more widely available at the various local fast-food joints, those bellying up

to the counter may not be who we immediately think of. An estimated 5% of consumers who order such products

are self-described vegans, while the remaining 95% categorize themselves as flexitarian wanting to “do their bit for

the environment when they can.”

Why Plant-Based Options Are Important

Putting aside environmental concerns for a moment, plant-based alternatives are important. More than 19 million

people in the United States live in food deserts — meaning they have limited or no access to affordable and

healthy foods. These areas are predominantly found in geographic areas of lower levels of education, lower

incomes, higher rates of unemployment, and disproportionately in Black communities. While grocery stores are

lacking, fast-food restaurants often aren’t.

The linkage between fast food and compromised health abound. And those with “limited access to

supermarkets…eat more unhealthy fast and processed foods and end up having 7 times the risk of early-life

stroke…” among other health ailments including diabetes, renal failure, heart attack, cancer, mental illness, and

dementia. Data is very clear on this point: a more plant-forward diet can help to prevent and often reverse many of

the health complications that come with eating a meat-forward diet — especially

one that is predominately fast food. Knowing millions of individuals lack access to

healthy and fresh foods, can fast food plant-based alternatives fill in this health gap?

The overwhelming evidence in mitigating the climate crisis is to choose plant-based options, but that doesn’t

always mean the fast-food version is healthier for you. On the surface, meatless fast food may appear healthier,

but it comes down to nutritional facts. The issue isn’t the lack of meat or the increase of veggies but the saturated

fat, alarming amount of salt, and oils used in production. Some options will be better than others, but yet again, this

places the onus on the consumer for both environmental and health cleanup. One British fast-food startup is trying

to tackle this very issue.

In less than a few hours, Ready Burger blew past their £1.5 million targets to raise £2 million in a crowdfunding

campaign that will provide nutritionally based fast food that is plant-based. Think vegan burgers and nuggets until

your heart’s content. With more than 840 investors, it’s clear the interest is there, and being price conscious is

helping to move consumers away from the highly saturated products they have come to know and love. If Ready

Burger succeeds and others follow suit, particularly in the United States, it’s entirely possible that the fast-food

industry may be able to help both the health of the planet and the consumer.

Future Outlook

When McDonald’s failed to mention their McPlant veggie burger (now discontinued in the United States) was a

partnership with Beyond Meat, Beyond Meat’s stock dropped 19%, leading to a $1.5 billion loss which indicates a

vocal partnership is needed to raise public awareness of plant-based options. McDonald’s, the largest fast-food

franchise in the United States and worldwide, is one of the last to consistently introduce plant-based options to

their menu, which satisfy those looking to swap out their traditional burger. There may be some hope in knowing

the McPlant is still on the menu in Denmark in Sweden — a self-described test market

for the company. Further, the franchise signed a three-year global agreement with

Beyond Meat leading many to anticipate a menu update in the near future.

Other fast-food chains aren’t dragging their feet nearly as much: Panda Express is now piloting Beyond Meat

orange chicken. Little Caesars just debuted their ‘Planteroni’ pizza while Pizza Hut pulled the Beyond Italian

Sausage pizza and The Great Beyond pizza — customers were not happy with their decision. Burger King has

remained steadfast in its commitment to offering plant-based burger options with their Impossible Whopper along

with Carl’s Jr and their Beyond Famous Star Burger, Western Cheeseburger, and Thickburger. Dunkin’s has also

thrown their hat into the ring with its Beyond Sausage Breakfast Sandwich, and Subway now offers a Beyond

Meatball Marinara sub and Veggie patty at select locations.

At the beginning of 2021, Taco Bell announced an upcoming partnership with Beyond Meat — current sales of

vegetarian items account for approximately 10% of all items sold at the popular fast-food chain. White Castle and

Nathans’s Famous Hot Dog have also joined the plant-based revolution leading many to be very hopeful about the

future of plant-based fast food. Only time will tell whether or not these items are here to stay, but one thing we

know for sure is demand will drive the market, but demand for industry overhaul cannot be overlooked.

Fast food serves a purpose whether we like it or not. Current systems support the fast-food model. Does it need

an overhaul? Yes. But do we need to embrace equal access to plant-based meat alternatives? Also, yes. So, while

there is a lot of work to be done on our food systems, we cannot overlook the importance of fast-food chains in

bringing about plant-based meat alternatives to large segments of the population. Perhaps the role of fast-food

restaurants is to work as a broker, introducing individuals to a wider array of options as we get busy transforming

our food systems via a just transition.