The Impossible Burger: Is it a game changer?

The Impossible Burger is no ordinary veggie burger. It sizzles like meat, it bleeds like meat, it looks like meat, and it tastes like meat. But it’s made entirely from plants.

I think it’ll go mainstream because in my 21-year experience as vegetarian, this is the best veggie burger I’ve ever had. And the company has raised nearly $300M from investors such as Bill Gates, Google Ventures, Temasek, Khosla Ventures, etc. to help the Redwood City, CA-based company expand. So yes, this burger is a game-changer.

The Impossible Foods CEO is a former Stanford geneticist and did an inspiring TED Talk which you should all watch when you have a spare 7 mins.

So why do I love The Impossible Burger??

It’s better for the environment…

According to the company, this burger uses 95% less land, 74% less water, and creates 87% less greenhouse gas emissions than burgers made from cows. Interested in learning more about the environmental impact of meat? Watch Cowspiracy on Netflix.

It’s better for your health…

The Impossible Burger has zero cholesterol and none of the usual hormones and antibiotics that you find in cows. It also has 20g of protein and made from simple ingredients found in nature, including wheat protein, coconut oil, potato protein, and heme. Heme!? What the heck is heme?? Well, it’s the building block of all life and is what makes the burger look like it’s ‘bleeding’. And it’s delicious!

And better for the cows!

This one is obvious! Cows have miserable lives and shouldn’t be slaughtered for food. Period. Paul McCartney famously said, “if slaughterhouses had glass walls, everyone would be vegetarian”.

Last weekend I was in a Lyft and had a conversation with my meat-loving driver about food and restaurants. He got really excited about the prospect of trying a healthier burger that tastes like the real thing. He said he’d absolutely try the Impossible Burger, and thinks there’s a market for plant-based alternatives. I agree with him! He (and the majority of Americans) may never give up their meat completely, but market research suggests they’d be willing to try something that tastes darn close. Vote with your dollar!

So What Else Are People Saying?!

I work at Electronic Arts (aka “EA Sports”) and last year I started a Veggie Club with ~25 members. We have lunch, discuss veg-related topics, and voice our desire for more plant-based alternatives in our cafeterias. I also coached 10 co-workers through a January Vegan challenge. Half-way through January our cafeteria started carrying The Impossible Burger. We were all so excited!! So excited, in fact, that they ran out of supply within a day. The people who did have it said they absolutely loved it and can’t wait to have it again. One Vegan Challenge member said, “I had it today, too! It was legit!!“. The head of our cafe said, “it seems very popular and I plan to have it as an option indefinitely.”

I also asked my Facebook friends and got responses such as “I’m not vegetarian but I liked it!”. “My husband and I loved it. They serve it at a very popular restaurant here in Denver.” And from a meat-eater, “I had it at Jardiniere — it’s pretty good!!”

Where To Find The Impossible Burger

As of February 2018 you can only find it at select restaurants and cafes. It sounds like they’re interested in getting into grocery stores in the future, though. They are adding new locations all the time, so you should refer to their product locator. Mark and I had it at Hopdoddy in Austin, Texas, at Umami in San Francisco, and twice at my cafeteria at work. Mark said the taste is ‘spot on’ but the texture is a little more soft than a regular burger.