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Two fronts against Burger King: between cattle breeders and vegans

2019-12-03T11:50:38.926Z


The US meat industry is mobilizing against meat substitutes at Burger King. At the same time, the fast-food chain must defend against disappointed vegans - it threatens a class action lawsuit.



Some analysts at investment bank Barclays recently came across a conspicuous phenomenon in the analysis of transaction data: in some branches of Burger King in St. Louis, public transport leapt by leaps and bounds. The explanation: The fast food chain had launched a test run for their meatless burger, the Impossible Whopper, in the city in the state of Missouri. The customers ate a lot.

Burger King responded quickly. Meanwhile, the plant-based patty is sold in all of the 7000 fast food restaurants in America and is also on the menu as a Rebel Whopper in Germany and other European countries. The product was a "huge hit with our guests", cheered Jose Cil, CEO of the parent company Restaurant Brands International. He speaks of "one of the most successful product launches in the history of Burger King". In the third quarter, US chain sales jumped five percent.

Fear of the fate of dairy farmers

One joy and another sorrow: America's cattle farmers fear that their growing business with meatless food will be their responsibility. The industry wants to prevent it from fading like dairy farmers: Before they knew what was going on, the imitation soy or almond had already massively reduced their sales in the dairy. With full-page ads in The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, and USA Today, the cattle industry is trying to discredit the fake meat in the eyes of the consumer. Their scientists are searching for possible health risks of competitive food, and their lobbyists are swarming to convince legislators that terms like burgers or sausages belong exclusively to them.

The accusation of misleading labels is also raised from other side: by vegans. Georgia-based American Phillip Williams, after launching the Drive-Thru in Atlanta, incorporated an Impossible Whopper without Mayo. Only after the enjoyment of eating Williams understood by his own admission that the "100% Whopper, 0% meat" patty had been roasted on the same grill as the traditional animal variant. Williams then went to the lawyer and brought legal action. Williams is a strict vegan who does not eat or drink anything that includes meaty by-products - and Burger King has deceived him. "After making sure his Impossible Whopper does not contain mayonnaise, the plaintiff went off to eat the Impossible Whopper, believing that it was a meatless variant," the 13-page complaint says.

Although Burger King has indicated on its website that customers may require a "non-grill cooking method" - that is, microwave heating. Williams complains that the restaurant lacks a clear message for vegans like him.

Application for a class action

Photo: Richard Drew / AP

Meatless burgers: "0% meat" really equal to zero percent?

The lawsuit does not stand a chance, according to Stephen Carter, a law professor at Yale University. Although the courts have in the past rejected similar complaints as a specific problem of individuals. But times have changed. According to polls, today three percent of Americans fed vegan, and the case law is changing. For example, a federal court in 2017 allowed a lawsuit to be filed by a mother who bought two pieces of vegan pizza for her daughter at the Whole Foods eco-supermarket. The child suffered an allergic shock because the pizza contained nuts. Whole Foods' argument that vegans generally eat nuts did not impress the judge. Decisive are the expectations of the consumers - and who expects pecans on his pizza?

When translated to the Burger King case, this would mean that "0% meat" means zero percent from the buyers' point of view, and non-grilled trace elements. Plaintiff Williams is convinced that others are just like him. His lawyer has applied for a class action.

Dagmar Schwelle / LaifUberall FressmeilenLieber Eating as shopping

The triumphant advance of the meatless diet should not stop this. Burger King has recently started a trial run with the Impossible Cheeseburger and is trying to make the imitation tasty for children as Impossible Whopper Jr.

The founder of producer Impossible Foods has a vision that goes beyond that. At some point, meatless will be the "new normal," said biochemist Pat Brown. Then children would ask their parents, "What, you ate meat from animals, how strange."

Source: spiegel

All business articles on 2019-12-03

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