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I'm going to assume that it's true. And I'm also going to say: If Burger King is forced to get a separate stove(or whatever it's called in the industrial-sized

by KoenDG 7y ago

I'm going to assume that it's true. And I'm also going to say: If Burger King is forced to get a separate stove(or whatever it's called in the industrial-sized context they're in) just for that 1 burger, they will cancel that burger. That's my prediction. Because it's too much of an up-front cost. I'm very glad that this burger has entered the chain and is getting both the vegan/vegetarian community, as well as regular meat-eating people, like myself, in on it. If people who eat meat start choosing this over a regular burger, it's a win. If this drives previously non-existing traffic to burger king, all of which uses this one product, it's a win. This is about changing the industry at large. About creating big orders and showing the industry that this is worth investing in. And eventually: normalizing it. We can solve the problem of the not-yet-vaporized grease particles later. I'm not saying we should ignore it. I'm saying it's not a current priority. But it will be later. I've tried the burger, and I liked it, I'll definitely pick it again.

monkin 7y ago
> And I'm also going to say: If Burger King is forced to get a separate stove(or whatever it's called in the industrial-sized context they're in) just for that 1 burger, they will cancel that burger. They will not kill it, it's too popular to make that decision, and has gigantic growth potential. From business perspective they will do everything to keep those few milion vegans getting into BK. For me biggest problem is meat smell inside of their restaurants. Most vegans don't like that. ;)
- Turing_Machine 7y ago
  > it's too popular to make that decision It's popular enough to double the square footage devoted to grills (at, generally, a hefty monthly lease cost per square foot), double the energy consumption, and double the employee time for grill cleaning and maintenance? I'm skeptical.
  - mcphage 7y ago
    > It's popular enough to double the square footage devoted to grills Why would they need the vegan grills to be the same size as the meat grills, unless they’re selling the same number of them? And if they are, doing so seems a no-brainer.
caf 7y ago
If Burger King is forced to get a separate stove... It seems more likely that they'd just have to tweak the way it's advertised, with some fine print making it clear that it's cooked on the same grill as meat products (as with "processed on equipment that also processes nuts" type disclaimers).
- mc32 7y ago
  I agree with this. A problem is ultra-orthodoxy along with less than truthful advertising. As someone commented in line, don't let perfect be the enemy of good. I know in other cultures I've worked in abroad this would not be a problem. People presume best effort with these kinds of things and don't take it literally --some people might but they'd be a tiny tiny minority. It was usually the foreigner who got upset that something wasn't 100% vegan even if in spirit things were and locals were okay with it.
- lonelappde 7y ago
  "Meat-friendly" burgers, like "gluten-friendly" food that has a little gluten in it.
erikig 7y ago
"Don't Let the Perfect Be the Enemy of the Good"
shkkmo 7y ago
There is no requirement of a separate grill, BK can use a microwave and/or advertise that while the impossible Burger contains 0% beef, it is cooked on equipment that also cooks beef (just like we do with peanut allergy warnings.)
anonytrary 7y ago
> If Burger King is forced to get a separate stove(or whatever it's called in the industrial-sized context they're in) just for that 1 burger, they will cancel that burger. I'm not a fan of regulation obstructing experimentation, but in this case, I think requiring proper cooking process for something that is purportedly vegetarian is absolutely necessary. I don't see the problem with fine-print like "may have touched real meat". The impossible whopper should be marketed towards omnivores who: 1. Understand the personal/environmental problems with eating meat. 2. Are interested in alternatives. This market seems to be increasing. If this is profitable, then it makes sense to support a fully vegetarian pipeline for producing fake meat.
noitsnot 7y ago
My experience is they don't have enough room for two grills without melting some ceiling tiles because the kitchen ventilation is made for one. They used to (may still) cook the chicken sandwich on the same grill and claim it was gluten free.
cageface 7y ago
I agree. I'm as vegan as I can be and still be a digital nomad but this seems like the lesser of two evils to me. I'd rather see this product stay on the market and introduce more people to the idea of eating less or even no meat. I understand why some vegans are put off by the idea of eating something cooked on the same grill as actual meat but I think we need pragmatism more than anything right now.
- thunderbong 7y ago
  In my experience most of the vegan evangelists are not pragmatists
  - cageface 7y ago
    If you care about animal welfare at all and you know what goes on in factory farms it can be hard to take pragmatic positions. All the same though I think it doesn't help to come across as too uncompromising if you're trying to win people over to your cause.
    - lonelappde 7y ago
      This is a common argument, but backwards. The more important an issue is the more pragmatic you need to be, because results actually matter more than your gut feelings of discomfort, right?
- bscphil 7y ago
  > I understand why some vegans are put off by the idea of eating something cooked on the same grill as actual meat I genuinely have never met a vegan who would be bothered by this, and I know quite a few. If there were still bits of meat on the grill it could still be kind of gross if they came off on the burger I guess, but most would have no problem with it. This strikes me as an extremely rare case, and I don't see any obvious grounds for a lawsuit.
  - cageface 7y ago
deleted 7y ago
[deleted]

by KoenDG 7y ago

monkin 7y ago

> And I'm also going to say: If Burger King is forced to get a separate stove(or whatever it's called in the industrial-sized context they're in) just for that 1 burger, they will cancel that burger. They will not kill it, it's too popular to make that decision, and has gigantic growth potential. From business perspective they will do everything to keep those few milion vegans getting into BK. For me biggest problem is meat smell inside of their restaurants. Most vegans don't like that. ;)

Turing_Machine 7y ago
> it's too popular to make that decision It's popular enough to double the square footage devoted to grills (at, generally, a hefty monthly lease cost per square foot), double the energy consumption, and double the employee time for grill cleaning and maintenance? I'm skeptical.
- mcphage 7y ago
  > It's popular enough to double the square footage devoted to grills Why would they need the vegan grills to be the same size as the meat grills, unless they’re selling the same number of them? And if they are, doing so seems a no-brainer.

caf 7y ago

If Burger King is forced to get a separate stove... It seems more likely that they'd just have to tweak the way it's advertised, with some fine print making it clear that it's cooked on the same grill as meat products (as with "processed on equipment that also processes nuts" type disclaimers).

mc32 7y ago
I agree with this. A problem is ultra-orthodoxy along with less than truthful advertising. As someone commented in line, don't let perfect be the enemy of good. I know in other cultures I've worked in abroad this would not be a problem. People presume best effort with these kinds of things and don't take it literally --some people might but they'd be a tiny tiny minority. It was usually the foreigner who got upset that something wasn't 100% vegan even if in spirit things were and locals were okay with it.
lonelappde 7y ago
"Meat-friendly" burgers, like "gluten-friendly" food that has a little gluten in it.

erikig 7y ago

"Don't Let the Perfect Be the Enemy of the Good"

shkkmo 7y ago

There is no requirement of a separate grill, BK can use a microwave and/or advertise that while the impossible Burger contains 0% beef, it is cooked on equipment that also cooks beef (just like we do with peanut allergy warnings.)

anonytrary 7y ago

> If Burger King is forced to get a separate stove(or whatever it's called in the industrial-sized context they're in) just for that 1 burger, they will cancel that burger. I'm not a fan of regulation obstructing experimentation, but in this case, I think requiring proper cooking process for something that is purportedly vegetarian is absolutely necessary. I don't see the problem with fine-print like "may have touched real meat". The impossible whopper should be marketed towards omnivores who: 1. Understand the personal/environmental problems with eating meat. 2. Are interested in alternatives. This market seems to be increasing. If this is profitable, then it makes sense to support a fully vegetarian pipeline for producing fake meat.

noitsnot 7y ago

My experience is they don't have enough room for two grills without melting some ceiling tiles because the kitchen ventilation is made for one. They used to (may still) cook the chicken sandwich on the same grill and claim it was gluten free.

cageface 7y ago

I agree. I'm as vegan as I can be and still be a digital nomad but this seems like the lesser of two evils to me. I'd rather see this product stay on the market and introduce more people to the idea of eating less or even no meat. I understand why some vegans are put off by the idea of eating something cooked on the same grill as actual meat but I think we need pragmatism more than anything right now.

thunderbong 7y ago
In my experience most of the vegan evangelists are not pragmatists
- cageface 7y ago
  If you care about animal welfare at all and you know what goes on in factory farms it can be hard to take pragmatic positions. All the same though I think it doesn't help to come across as too uncompromising if you're trying to win people over to your cause.
  - lonelappde 7y ago
    This is a common argument, but backwards. The more important an issue is the more pragmatic you need to be, because results actually matter more than your gut feelings of discomfort, right?
bscphil 7y ago
> I understand why some vegans are put off by the idea of eating something cooked on the same grill as actual meat I genuinely have never met a vegan who would be bothered by this, and I know quite a few. If there were still bits of meat on the grill it could still be kind of gross if they came off on the burger I guess, but most would have no problem with it. This strikes me as an extremely rare case, and I don't see any obvious grounds for a lawsuit.
- cageface 7y ago

deleted 7y ago

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