Can McDonald’s sell vegans on a soy-based burger? We’re about to find out.
We already have McNuggets, McRibs and McMuffins — and now McDonald’s is adding the “McVegan” to the mix.
In Finland, at least.
The fast-food company announced that it is trying out a soy-based burger in the Scandinavian country in a test trial that, if successful, could see the McVegan land on menus across the world, according to The Evening Standard.
The new meatless burger will be offered at one McDonald’s in Tampere, Finland, according to Food & Wine, from Oct. 4 to Nov. 21.
McDonald’s Finland website posted an image and description of the new entree aimed at attracting the growing number of people whose diet excludes meat.
And it seemed a lot of Americans rejoiced at the news.
Dear @McDonalds - Please put the vegan burger on the US menu.
— Chris (@ChrisCrocker) October 6, 2017
I live in the south & vegan options are hard to find. It would help a lot!
Yo, @McDonalds Is this true? If yes, please bring your #vegan burger to #Seattle. We will eat them all day.https://t.co/6F6ICuYA4P
— Jared Stewart (@JaredStewart) October 5, 2017
*flies to Finland to try a vegan burger from McDonalds* https://t.co/aohiTz2pB1
— Kara Avanceña (@karadanielle22) October 6, 2017
I want this in my mouth https://t.co/EJwWCphW4B
— pumpCait spice☕ (@Caitofthenorth) October 6, 2017
While others recoiled at the idea of eating at McDonald’s, even if the options are free of any animal products.
Twitter user Aidan Fletcher, for example, said anyone who bought the McVegan would “be funding animal slaughter.”
Thats a fair point. I’m just getting loads of hate for saying it’s stupid that McDonalds are releasing a vegan product. For vegans to buy it goes against what they stand for as they’d be funding animal slaughter
— AIDAN. FLETCHER. (@aidan_fletcher) October 6, 2017
McDonalds is testing out a veggie burger in Finland. If you’re a smart vegan, you don’t eat at McDonalds.
— Brittany (@brittanyscake) October 6, 2017
McDonald’s is testing out a vegan burger called the Mcvegan.
— Tonya (@tonyamiller04) October 6, 2017
That’s a hell Mcno from me.
It turns out releasing the meatless burger in the United States might be a smart business move. According to a 2017 report, 6 percent of Americans say they are vegan — a marked increase over the 1 percent of United States consumers who claimed they were vegan in 2014.
But if the soy-based burger ends up coming to America, Vegans still need to be careful — McDonald’s fries in some branches across the U.S. are served with “natural beef flavoring” that is made with milk, according to the New York Post.
Still, there are some other vegan fast-food options you can munch on while impatiently waiting for the McVegan. That includes Chick-Fil-A’s waffle fries, a Chipotle meal made with sofritas and Red Robin’s Garden Burger, according to OneGreenPlanet.org.
This story was originally published October 6, 2017 at 10:58 AM with the headline "Can McDonald’s sell vegans on a soy-based burger? We’re about to find out.."