Photo: OathOn via Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0, cropped. This adapted image is also licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.
Burger King UK has launched a vegan version of its Chicken Royale in restaurants across the country, and it's just the first step in a plan to make half the menu meat-free by 2030.
The Vegan Royale is a crispy breaded plant-based chicken patty from The Vegetarian Butcher, topped with iceberg lettuce and egg-free mayonnaise in a toasted sesame bun. It costs £2.49, exactly the same as the original, and Burger King says strict cooking processes that keep it completely separate from meat, dairy and egg have earned it Vegan Society certification. Burger King is also introducing Meat Free Mondays, with the Plant-Based Whopper on offer to app users for as little as £1.99.
Burger King UK's Marketing Director Soco Nunez is confident meat eaters won't notice the difference: "We would go as far as to say it's an identical taste experience to the original Chicken Royale."
The launch follows a big announcement in March, when CEO Alasdair Murdoch told the i newspaper that half of the menu will be plant-based within a decade. That means fewer meat products, not just more vegan ones. As VegNews reported, Murdoch said:
Are there going to be less meat products? Ultimately, you would say yes.
Over time the amount of beef that we are selling as a proportion of our total sales is reducing.
We know the direction of travel, we are embracing the direction of travel and we are trying to get ahead of it.
He was clear that beef isn't disappearing altogether, telling the paper "we are also still very proud of our beef". The pledge is part of the chain's "Burger King for Good" sustainability charter, which Green Queen reports also commits to cutting food waste by 30% and moving to 100% recycled or certified packaging by 2025.
It's another win for the planet and for public health. The World Health Organization classifies processed meat as a Group 1 carcinogen, and the UN Food and Agriculture Organization estimates livestock produce 14.5% of human-caused greenhouse gas emissions. Swapping a beef burger for a plant-based one is one of the easiest changes anyone can make.
Burger King has been on a plant-based roll. In the US it rolled out the Impossible Whopper to every restaurant after a trial boosted footfall. Here in the UK Greggs' vegan sausage roll sent profits soaring, KFC launched a vegan burger and McDonald's announced the McPlant. And only last week the world's largest meat company bought plant-based brand Vivera.
No meat, no problem.