Burger King Introduces the Veggie Burger That Ain't

[Guest guest]

http://www.vegparadise.com/news15.html

 

Those bastards, you would think that after mcdonalds got in all that

trouble over their french fries that they wouldn't do this.

 

Burger King Introduces the Veggie Burger That Ain't

 

 

Editors' Note: Those of you who read this story on April 1, may have

seen a different version because VIP has learned more details that

necessitated a re-write of the story appearing on that date.

" The Burger King VeggieBurger is not positioned to be a vegetarian

or vegan burger. It was designed to be a meatless alternative. " These

were the words VIP heard when we called Burger King headquarters in

Miami, Florida.

 

The customer relations person continued by saying, " The veggie burger

has reduced-fat mayonnaise that contains egg products, and the bun

has natural and artificial butter flavor. "

 

Those items would make the bun and the mayonnaise objectionable to

vegans but not necessarily to ovo-lacto vegetarians.

 

What he did not indicate was that both the bun and the mayonnaise

contain polysorbate 60 that is derived from animal products. The

patty, produced by Worthington Foods (now owned by Kellogg's), is

vegetarian but does contain sugar that would make it objectionable to

vegans.

 

The veggie sandwich has far fewer calories and much less fat than the

full-scale Whopper. The BK Veggie contains 10 grams of fat, 2g

saturated, and 14 grams of protein with a calorie total of 330. The

Whopper statistics include 39 grams of fat and 29 grams of protein

with 680 calories.

 

We posed a simple question to the Burger King representative. " If the

sandwich has 10 grams of fat and 2 are saturated, what is the nature

of the other 8 grams? " He was unable to answer.

 

Current food labels do not require food companies to list trans-fats,

those artery-clogging fats that are now considered more dangerous

than saturated fats. Companies only indicate monounsaturated,

polyunsaturated, and saturated fats. If the numbers don't add up,

there are probably trans-fats in the product.

 

Vegetarians who order the BK VEGGIE should specify that they want it

cooked away from the Whoppers. To make certain, they should request

it be microwaved. To cut down on the fat or to avoid the animal

ingredients in the bun and the mayonnaise, they may want to order

just the patty with lettuce and tomato, and supplement it with a side

salad.

 

The 66-gram patty by itself is only 140 calories with 4 grams of fat,

only 0.5 saturated. It offers 9 grams of protein, 2 grams of fiber,

and no cholesterol.

 

Vegan activist Erik Marcus, author of Vegan, the New Ethics of Eating

and sponsor of websites http://www.erikmarkus.com and

http://www.vegan.com appealed to the vegetarian community to support

the Burger King effort. " The Burger King Veggie Burger represents an

unprecedented opportunity in the vegetarian movement's history, " he

says, " but if the burger flops, it might set the growth of the

movement back ten years. "

 

Marcus, who has not eaten fast foods for 15 years, did his own taste

test. " I bit into it, and it was delicious, " he reported. " The burger

had great texture and flavor. Everything tasted fresh. Even the

tomatoes were excellent -- quite a trick for Upstate New York in

March. "

 

Like Marcus, VIP believes that restaurant efforts to offer vegetarian

options should be supported. We want these foods to succeed in the

marketplace so that more vegan and vegetarian items will appear on

menus.

 

Unfortunately, VIP does not agree with Marcus's evaluation and cannot

sincerely recommend the BK Veggie Burger. Our lunch test included

ordering a microwaved patty with a side salad without the cheese. The

patty was not delicious, the texture was not pleasing, and it tasted

fatty.

 

As a sandwich the BK Veggie Burger is neither vegetarian nor vegan.

After reading the ingredient list, we have decided it is a chemical

meal instead of a wholesome sandwich. Without the bun, it is not even

a satisfying meal, even with a side salad. We feel the BK Veggie

Burger is just plain junk food.

 

For another view, VIP dispatched the VeggieTaster to a local Burger

King to report back to our readers on this new product. For that

review click on the VeggieTaster Report.

 

As a public service, VIP is printing the patty's list of ingredients

that might not be readily available at the local Burger King. The

company provides the information.

[Guest guest]

Tracie Bell wrote:

>Vegetarians who order the BK VEGGIE should specify that they want it

>cooked away from the Whoppers. To make certain, they should request

>it be microwaved. To cut down on the fat or to avoid the animal

>ingredients in the bun and the mayonnaise, they may want to order

>just the patty with lettuce and tomato, and supplement it with a side

>salad.

 

As an experiment, I tried the Burger King Veggie Burger a few weeks ago. I

did all of the above, except that I decided to get it with the bun, even

though the bun is not vegan. I thought it tasted terrible! And I could

taste it all afternoon. Perhaps some people will like it (I'm not much of a

fast food fan), but I find it hard to imagine that anyone would.

 

>Vegan activist Erik Marcus, author of Vegan, the New Ethics of Eating

>and sponsor of websites http://www.erikmarkus.com and

>http://www.vegan.com appealed to the vegetarian community to support

>the Burger King effort. " The Burger King Veggie Burger represents an

>unprecedented opportunity in the vegetarian movement's history, " he

>says, " but if the burger flops, it might set the growth of the

>movement back ten years. "

 

It's hard to see how the future of the vegetarian " movement " depends on the

success of Burger King's lacklustre product. Moreover, in the UK, Burger

King makes a really pleasant (in my opinion) spicy beanburger (by default,

it comes with cheese, but you can ask them to leave it off). So even Burger

King could do better in the US if they really wanted to.

 

>Marcus, who has not eaten fast foods for 15 years, did his own taste

>test. " I bit into it, and it was delicious, " he reported. " The burger

>had great texture and flavor. Everything tasted fresh. Even the

>tomatoes were excellent -- quite a trick for Upstate New York in

>March. "

 

I wonder what happened to the poor guy's taste buds. Perhaps he has been

living on the dreaded " Vegan cheese " for the past 15 years.

 

The other part of my experiment was that I asked them if the burger was

organic. They didn't even know what I meant (Tucson, AZ, if anyone's

interested).

 

Gerry

[Guest guest]

Ummm....How about just NOT going into Burger King at all?

After all, isnt a part of being a vegan NOT endorsing the companies

that test on animals, or use animals as entertainment, property, or

ingredients???

Its kind of like going into a world famous steak house and expecting

them to serve a legally vegan dish. Its absurd to think that any fast

food meat vendors, responsible for the additional slaughter of

billions of animals, would be respectful or understanding of the

vegetarian diet enough to keep the patties on a separate cooking

surface.

In addition to the murderous aspect, these " restaurants " do not offer

healthful ingredients to accompany their so-called vegetarian

selections, anyway.

Most veggies that I know are very health conscious, as I think most

of us are.

Burger King and McDonalds serve up buns made with processed wheat

flour, instead of stone ground whole wheat, their toppings contain

hydrogenated oil and their cheese contains rennet. (Veal calf stomach

digest), They use iceberg lettuce, which has the least amount of

nutrients. Etc, etc etc.

It really shocks me that PETA endorses Burger King and advertises

this BK Veggie joke on their site.

It really surprises me that any veggies or vegans would be so

forgiving to turn the other cheek and walk into one of these

establishments and expect to be served a meal fit to eat.

Dont act surprised to then learn that soylent green is made from

people!

 

, Gerry Morgan <gjm@p...> wrote:

> Tracie Bell wrote:

> >Vegetarians who order the BK VEGGIE should specify that they want

it

> >cooked away from the Whoppers. To make certain, they should request

> >it be microwaved. To cut down on the fat or to avoid the animal

> >ingredients in the bun and the mayonnaise, they may want to order

> >just the patty with lettuce and tomato, and supplement it with a

side

> >salad.

>

> As an experiment, I tried the Burger King Veggie Burger a few weeks

ago. I

> did all of the above, except that I decided to get it with the bun,

even

> though the bun is not vegan. I thought it tasted terrible! And I

could

> taste it all afternoon. Perhaps some people will like it (I'm not

much of a

> fast food fan), but I find it hard to imagine that anyone would.

>

> >Vegan activist Erik Marcus, author of Vegan, the New Ethics of

Eating

> >and sponsor of websites http://www.erikmarkus.com and

> >http://www.vegan.com appealed to the vegetarian community to

support

> >the Burger King effort. " The Burger King Veggie Burger represents

an

> >unprecedented opportunity in the vegetarian movement's history, " he

> >says, " but if the burger flops, it might set the growth of the

> >movement back ten years. "

>

> It's hard to see how the future of the vegetarian " movement "

depends on the

> success of Burger King's lacklustre product. Moreover, in the UK,

Burger

> King makes a really pleasant (in my opinion) spicy beanburger (by

default,

> it comes with cheese, but you can ask them to leave it off). So

even Burger

> King could do better in the US if they really wanted to.

>

> >Marcus, who has not eaten fast foods for 15 years, did his own

taste

> >test. " I bit into it, and it was delicious, " he reported. " The

burger

> >had great texture and flavor. Everything tasted fresh. Even the

> >tomatoes were excellent -- quite a trick for Upstate New York in

> >March. "

>

> I wonder what happened to the poor guy's taste buds. Perhaps he has

been

> living on the dreaded " Vegan cheese " for the past 15 years.

>

> The other part of my experiment was that I asked them if the burger

was

> organic. They didn't even know what I meant (Tucson, AZ, if

anyone's

> interested).

>

> Gerry