The Skinny — and Fat — on the Beyond Burger.

The Beyond burger is plant-based, soy-free, gluten-free, and GMO-free. But is it healthy?

100% plant based. From Beyond Meat.

Next-generation faux-meats have arrived. Plant-based “meats” from pioneers Beyond Burger and Impossible Foods are flying off grills and grocery store shelves around the globe.

These burgers are nothing like their predecessors. They are so realistic that they make vegans, such as yours truly, squirm with discomfort.

They are also making ranchers squirm. After tasting an Impossible Whopper, Eric Bohl, Director of Public Affairs & Advocacy for Missouri Farm Bureau said:

“ If farmers and ranchers think we can mock and dismiss these products as a passing fad, we’re kidding ourselves. This is not just another disgusting tofu burger that only a dedicated hippie could convince himself to eat. It’s 95 percent of the way there, and the recipe is likely to only get better. Farmers and ranchers need to take notice and get ready to compete. I’ve tasted it with my own mouth, and this fake meat is ready for prime time. “

Clearly, the demand for these products reaches far beyond the current vegetarian and vegan communities. Indeed, Beyond Meat’s IPO exceeded the wildest of plant-based expectations, with a stock rise of 163% on day one and a valuation of nearly $4 billion USD. It appears the meatless revolution is just getting started.

Let’s take a hard look at what Wall Street darling’s Beyond Burger can, and cannot, deliver.

Health

Is the Beyond Burger healthier than its muse?

Ingredients

The Beyond Burger is soy free, gluten-free and GMO-free. What is in it?

The Beyond Burger’s four main ingredients are: water, pea protein, canola oil, and coconut oil. They contain smaller amounts of potato starch, natural flavour, yeast extract, and beet juice extract.

Meat advocates argue that beef is superior because it only contains one ingredient: beef. As a scientist, the notion that “beef” is a single ingredient makes no sense. Beef is a complex biological tissue, containing many of the same “ingredients”…