Plant-Based Options at Fast-Food Chains Saved More Than 600,000 Animals in 2021

In 2021, more than 600,000 animals were saved from the food system in the United States as a result of prominent fast food chains offering plant-based options. According to estimates from the animal rights organization World Animal Protection (WAP), approximately 211,000 pigs, 77,000 cows and 350,000 chickens were saved last year due to an increase in plant-based offerings from the Beyond Meat and Impossible brands. Foods in the main fast food chains. restaurants

Following the introduction of plant-based burgers at some fast-food restaurants in 2019 and 2020, plant-based offerings took center stage again last year with back-to-back launches of plant-based chicken from Beyond Meat and Impossible Foods. . Beyond chicken tenders first debuted in nearly 400 restaurants, including traditional wing shops, pubs and pizzerias, and has since expanded to menus at more than two dozen fast food chains across the country, including an expanded offering from Beyond The Original Orange Chicken at Panda Express and Beyond Fried Chicken at KFC. Then Impossible Chicken Nuggets they were tested at select Burger King locations, which has offered the Impossible Whopper since 2019, and it is now available at several other restaurants across the country.

To calculate the animal impact of these new offerings, WAP estimated the number of plant-based items sold at major fast food chains using data from Carl’s Jr., which indicated the company had consistently sold 30 Beyond burgers every day since launching. the article in 2019. WAP applied the same sales rate to all the companies it evaluated. WAP also assumed that stores are open 360 days a year and that people are likely not eating more food because of the new plant-based items, but instead are swapping meat for the Beyond or Impossible menu option.

Vegan fast food saved 1 million animals

The actual number of animals saved is likely to be much higher, as the WAP assessment does not take into account the full market for plant-based products, such as those sold in grocery stores, menu items that have other plant-based brands or those that are manufactured in-house. or Beyond and Impossible products offered in other types of restaurants.

For example, in 2021 alone, Impossible Foods went from selling its products in just 150 stores to 20,000 grocery stores. Additionally, Taco Bell tested its proprietary plant-based beef mix at select locations, and Little Caesars opted for field-roasted pepperoni for its new Planteroni pizza test at hundreds of locations.

“It is fair to say that the true impact on animals from the growing market for plant-based meat was probably more than a million animals saved,” WAP said on its website. However, the organization also points out that while that number may seem significant, it is a small fraction of the 9.5 billion animals that are raised and killed for food in the US each year.

This year has also seen an equally impressive expansion of plant-based offerings in more fast-food restaurants, meaning more animal lives in the food system will be saved in the years to come. Just last month chipotle made its homemade plant-based sausage available at all of its more than 2,700 locations across the country, KFC expanded its Beyond Fried Chicken nationally for a limited time, and panda express expanded its partnership with Beyond Meat with a test launch of two more vegan meat dishes from Beyond.

To learn more about vegan fast food, read:
The Ultimate Guide to the Top 15 Vegan Fast Food Chains in the US.
The Vegan Guide to Plant-Based Eating at Burger King
9 vegan hacks for your favorite fast food restaurants

nicole axworth is the news editor of VegNews and author of the cookbook do it yourself vegan.