By Teresa Curto
The vegetarian and vegan communities have exploded exponentially in the last few years. In fact, according to an article published by The Economist, “Fully a quarter of 25- to 34-year-old Americans say they are vegans or vegetarians.” What was once considered a stark minority of the population has now created a huge demand for meatless food options in restaurants and grocery stores worldwide. Where there once were only slim pickings now lays an array of options, as most major grocery stores, and nearly every fast food restaurant, have jumped on the meatless burger bandwagon by implementing meat-free alternatives for their growing group of vegetarian consumers.
With options so limitless and readily available, you may be asking yourself if you should switch out your beloved beef patty for a meatless alternative. As shown by the growing numbers of vegetarians, many would say yes. Read ahead to learn about the differences between beef burgers and their meatless alternatives.
Many have expressed concern for the nutritional differences between meat and meatless products. Perhaps the biggest concern lies in the belief that meatless alternatives cannot possibly contain a sufficient amount of protein. Aside from the fact that many doctors now believe most Americans consume too much protein, nowadays many vegetarian burgers pack a protein punch similar to, or even exceeding, that of real meat products.
Though meatless burgers may stand up to the protein test, it’s important to note that many of the prepackaged versions contain a number of processed ingredients. Anyone can make a beef burger at home with one simple ingredient: beef. Packaged vegetarian burgers are made up of a number of different ingredients such as pea protein isolate or soy. To avoid these processed ingredients, make vegetarian burgers at home with whole foods such as legumes and vegetables.
Just as there is a range of quality in meatless burgers, good quality, organic, grass-fed beef is much more nutritious than a burger you grab at McDonald’s and can even stand up nutritionally — depending on your dietary needs — to a homemade vegetarian burger made of whole ingredients.
Which will cost you more: a beef burger or a meatless burger? The answer depends. If you get your meatless burger fix at a Burger King or Carl’s Jr., you’ll be disappointed to find that meatless burgers carry a high sticker price. Most restaurants carry the Beyond Burger or Impossible Burger brand of meatless burgers, which are priced much higher than many other prepackaged meatless burgers. They are known for being as meatlike as possible. Other prepackaged burgers aren’t nearly as expensive as the Beyond Meat or Impossible brands and can be found priced similarly to or less than beef patties. However, if you choose to make a meatless burger at home, you may be pleasantly surprised to find that a burger made of legumes and fresh vegetables can be significantly cheaper than good quality beef.
But does our choice between beef or vegetarian burgers really have an effect on the planet? There are a number of environmental implications of animal agriculture that have been studied by scientists and environmentalists. The primary causes for concern with animal-farming are greenhouse gas emissions, deforestation, overuse of finite resources, diminishing biodiversity and toxic waste runoff — just to name a few.
In the case of energy consumption, a spokesperson for Beyond Meat — arguably one of the most innovative companies committed to creating meatless alternatives — is able to showcase the effects of animal agriculture as he states: “On average, Americans eat three burgers a week. If they switched just one of these beef burgers to a Beyond Burger for a year, it would be like taking 12 million cars off the road and saving enough energy to power 2.3 million homes.”
For those hoping for large-scale changes in environmental damages, a diet — or even just a burger — focused more on vegetables than meat could be the answer to a more sustainable way of living.
