I left you yesterday towards the end of my staycation at the Waikiki Marriott. I did go to Burger King to order that Impossible Whopper, which is not a classical hamburger.
I should first, however, report on
Impossible Foods, a company founded in 2011 in Redwood City, California, which develops plant-based substitutes for meat products. Their aim is to produce the taste and nutritional benefits of meat without the negative health and environmental impacts associated with livestock products. While they use plants as their feedstock, the research is at the molecular level.
Their first output was the Impossible Burger, which has now been available for 26 months. Their second item will be a plant-based sausage that is being tested on Little Caesars pizza.
How did this all begin? In 2009, the very distinguished Stanford biochemistry professor
Patrick Brown took an 18-month sabbatical leave to eliminate intensive animal farming. He began with a conference in Washington, DC, but the workshop did not offer much hope, so he decided that the best way to reduce animal agriculture was to offer a competing product.
Brown founded Impossible Foods in 2011. The Impossible Whopper (
IW) uses 95% less land and 74% less water, emitting 87% less greenhouse gas. It has MORE protein, less fat, no cholesterol and fewer calories than the Burger King Whopper. Note in the photo I took inside Burger King that, while the cost is higher, the IW has 30 fewer calories/meal, 630 versus 660. Further, it has
Halal certification.
Apparently, what I had was their Impossible Burger 2.0, for this one has 30% less sodium and 40% less saturated fat from the original. They are now working on a world-class steak. Those to the left are not impossible steaks, they're the real ones to someday be replaced by those plant imposters, then, someday by the real thing grown in a lab.
The company scientists found that heme is a key factor in how meat behaves. Heme? This is the molecule that gives blood the color red, and carries oxygen to cells. Plants also contain heme, molecularly identical to those in meat.
They focused on
leghemoglobin found in the roots of soy plants. A yeast was genetically modified for the fermentation process. To replicate the fat in hamburgers, the company uses flecks of coconut fat, mixed with textured wheat and potato protein. The company received FDA approval to declare their leghemoglobin Generally Recognized As Safe. Their heme is safe to eat. The FDA also approved the food colorant. Impossible Burgers, as of this month, can be found in grocery stores.
IF built its first production plant in Oakland. Their burger is now sold by Umami Burger, White Castle, and various other fast food outlets. By the end of 2018 5,000 restaurants across all 50 states sold their plant-burger. Burger King came on the scene in April, and the Impossible Whopper first became available last month. Little Caesars is still experimenting.
Funding has been high tech, involving Google Ventures and Khosla Ventures of Silicon Valley, plus Viking Global Investors, UBS, Horizons Ventures and Bill Gates. Brown has already turned down an offer of $300 million for Impossible Foods. The company is now worth $2 billion.
There are other companies, of course, such as
Beyond Meat, which focuses on mock chicken.
Tyson Foods (
which is the largest chicken company in the country) has a stake, and so do Bill Gates and the Humane Society. Yes, Humane Society. Products can be found in 27,000 stores, including Whole Foods. The company has a market value of $11.7 billion.
Where is science today in creating real beef in the lab?
Scientific American did an article last year entitled
Lab-Grown Meat. Again, Bill Gates is involved. Also
Cargill. You know Gates, but who knows Cargill. They are an agri-giant with sales of $115 billion/year. Do you see a trend?
So, back to my impossible lunch, here I am with a view of Waikiki Beach with an Impossible Whopper, some chips, beer and the rest of the bottle of Lyndenhurst Cabernet Sauvignon:
The "meat" is rather thin, dry, all brown and almost tasteless. That photo to the left is supposed to represent the product. Not even close. Good experience? Sure. Good for your health? Probably. Would I again order the Impossible Whopper? No.
As a matter of fact, today, I'm making up for yesterday. I will start with a real hamburger, provided by 15 Craigside. Our patty is three times the thickness. People here complain that this burger is too big. Then, before our football game against Central Arkansas, my neighbor John and I plan to grill Japanese Wagyu Beef outside the theater and have the ultimate meat for our tailgate.
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