Today I discovered that the Rebel Whopper is as good, if not better, than the regular Whopper.
Given the environmental impact and costs of meat production, could lab-synthesised protein be the way of the future? I think so.
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In this post we will discuss:
- The Rebel Whopper from Hungry Jack’s
- The impact of meat
- How you can bet on non-meat protein
Since its IPO in May, a lot of attention had focussed on the US company Beyond Meat. Its slogan calls it “the future of protein”. Beyond Meat’s share price rocketed over 250% in its first 3 months of trading. They makes patties that look, feel and taste like meat- without harming any animals.
Down Under, V2 Food is an Australian plant-based meat startup that is also moving into this space.
I appreciate there are many benefits for humans not to consume meat- or at least to eat less of it. Ethical, environmental and health being the big three that come to mind. I do enjoy vegetarian food but have never had the desire or determination to go meat-free.
While vegetarian burger patty options have been around for ages (think falafels), the new breed of burger fillers has sought to imitate meat itself.
I recently heard that Hungry Jack’s has added the Rebel Whopper to their menu. The patty is meat-free and produced by V2 Foods- a collaboration between the CSIRO and Jack Cowin, who owns the franchise rights to Hungry Jacks.
My Afternoon Off
This morning I had a colonoscopy list and the afternoon off. There was no mad rush to get to another hospital and the kids wouldn’t be home for at least 3 hours. Mrs MM was also out having lunch with her friends.
There was no better time to enjoy a quiet meal alone and it was the perfect opportunity to try the new Rebel Whopper.
I divide foodies into two types- Eaters and Diners. Eaters value quality and quantity. Diners value presentation and culinary creativity. I’m an Eater. I also factor price into my judgement of a meal.
I can’t remember the last time I ate at Hungry Jack’s. It must have been over 10 years ago. My fast food eating moved from Maccas, Hungry’s and single slice pizza to Subway when it became the “healthy option”. These days my food on the go is largely sushi rolls and banh mi (Vietnamese baguettes).
Today I got to step back in time with some junk food eating- all in the name of research of course.
The Rebel Whopper
The Rebel Whopper comes in two versions- The Rebel Whopper and the Rebel Whopper with Cheese.
I had intended on just getting the Rebel Whopper with Cheese, but then I had a great idea- why don’t I get both the Rebel and regular Whopper with Cheese? Only by doing this could I compare them side by side.
So I ordered both of them. Thinking briefly about the calorie content, I chose to decline the value meal upgrade.
Price
It surprised me that both Whoppers with Cheese were $7.30 each- much more expensive than I remember fast food to cost.
Back in the ’80s, my parents had a Chinese takeaway shop right next door to McDonald’s and I ate countless $1 cheeseburgers. A quick Google search informs me they are now $3.25.
Those chic $15 burgers I have been eating don’t seem that pricey anymore.
*photo of receipt
Appearance
The Rebel Whopper comes wrapped in plastic-coated paper coloured green and purple. It’s like grocery fresh meets hippy tie-dye.
The standard Whopper comes in its recycled cardboard box complete with grease stains from 15-year-old fingers.
Undress them, and they’re identical except for the patty. Both remain a good sized feed.
Taste & Texture
HJ’s likes to use its “flamed grilled” as its differentiator from Macca’s and the Rebel Whopper did have a smokiness to it.
The patty did appear a little darker than expected, so I’m not sure if this was responsible for the extra “smokiness” or whether it was from within the patty.
As a person who does not add salt to food at the table, I was pleasantly surprised how “unsalty” the patty was.
Its texture was consistently smooth. There were no hard edges common in tempeh patties, and there wasn’t the dry flakiness of a falafel.
Surprisingly, the lettuce and tomatoes were crunchy and appeared much fresher than the limp vegetation I was expecting.
My first impression is that this was as good as any burger I have had from HJ’s.
After a few bites of the Rebel I moved onto the old faithful Whopper.
No surprises here- meat patty complete with a few stringy bits that always get stuck in your teeth. Not really sure how much of it is actually meat, but my guess is its no worse than the party pies I eat every Thursday in the hospital tearoom.
Side-by-side, I actually prefer the Rebel Whopper.
If there was one thing that could elevate it, it’s the addition of bacon. I figured this probably goes against the idea of creating a meat-free burger.
Nutritional Information
I pulled these stats from the Hungry Jack’s website. Both Whoppers with Cheese are equally matched in terms of overall calories at about one-third of the daily energy intake. Their protein, fat and carbohydrate breakdown is also very similar. The Rebel Whopper, however, is significantly higher in sodium with 1460mg or 25% more than the standard Whopper.
While these numbers seem high, I always like to remind junior anaesthesia trainees that every 1-litre bag of saline has 9g of sodium chloride.
After downing the two burgers and looking like a real Asian by taking copious photos of my lunch, I took a look at some meat related stats.
The Cost of Consuming Meat
Meat consumption in Australia has been stable since the 1960s with around 110kg per person per year.
Animal Welfare
Beef- 2.5 million tonnes of beef is produced in Australia each year
Chicken – consumption has been increasing in recent decades and around 600 million chickens produced in Australia each year, mostly for domestic consumption
Pork- about 360,000 tonnes of pork is produced in Australia every year
Environmental Impact
23% of fresh water available on the planet is used for livestock farming
Natural rainforests like the Amazon are being cleared to make way for more cattle and beef production
Health Impact
Lean meat- the Cancer Council recommends eating no more than 1 serve of lean red meat per day or 2 serves 3-4 times per week. Red meat includes beef, lamb and pork.
Processed meat- The International Agency for Research on Cancer shows consuming 50g a day of processed meat (2 rashers of bacon) increases your risk of bowel cancer by 18%
Betting On Non-Meat Proteins
There are currently 7.7 billion people on the planet. The United Nations expects this to be 9.7 billion by 2050. Thats an additional 2 billion people using the same amount of available resources.
Just like energy production, it’s clear that there is money to be made through developing sustainable methods of feeding all those hungry mouths.
So how can we invest in the future of efficient meat and protein alternatives?
Currently, each of these companies appears to be focussed on creating products that emulate the look, texture and taste of beef.
V2 Food- “Meat. Made From Plants”
This is the Australian company that brought me today’s Rebel Whopper.
They say their recipe is top secret but it comprises oils form sunflowers, fibre from bamboo and protein form legumes.
It seems like venture capital is the only way you can get into this one as its not listed on the Australian Stock Exchange. The January 2019 seed round was funded by Main Sequence Ventures. I’ve heard they’re looking for another round of funding soon to increase the size of the factory so keep an eye out.
Beyond Meat- “The Future of Protein”
This is the market leader right now and is based in the USA.
Their core product is the Beyond Burger, but they also have the Beyond Sausage and Beyond Beef Crumbles.
The patties are meant to have marbling that melts and tenderises just like beef.
Beyond Meat was listed on the US NASDAQ under the code BYND in May 2019. By July 2019 it had a market capitalisation $11.7 billion.
Within 2 months of the IPO, investors were up 250%, but the share price has since retreated.
Celebrities that have backed Beyond Meat include Microsoft’s Bill Gates and Oscar Award Winner Leonardo DiCaprio.
Their Beyond Burger is sold in over 35,000 locations including restaurants and grocery stores.
In Australia, products can be found at Lord Of The Fries, Ribs And Burgers and JUS Burgers.
Selected Coles and IGA supermarkets also stock their products.
Impossible Foods- “The Impossible Is Here”
This US company has already raised over $300 million and we may soon see an IPO.
It’s backed by celebrities like Serena Williams, Katy Perry and Jay-Z.
Like Beyond Meat, they’re proving it is possible to make “meat “using plant-based ingredients in their patties.
The Verdict
So there’s my quick dive into the world of plant-based meat options.
This research project cost me $14.60 and I added 6200 kJ to my waistline.
I did enjoy the Rebel Whopper, and it’s definitely worth a try to see what all the fuss is about. V2 Foods have done well to create a burger patty that emulates the taste and texture of beef.
The next big step-to create bacon without needing to sacrifice Babe.
Yawn. Carb coma kicking in. I think it’s time for an afternoon………..zzzzz
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