{"id":7520,"date":"2018-11-16T15:03:04","date_gmt":"2018-11-16T15:03:04","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/fitproblog.mysites.io\/vegan-bleeding-burger\/"},"modified":"2018-11-16T15:03:04","modified_gmt":"2018-11-16T15:03:04","slug":"vegan-bleeding-burger","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.fitpro.com\/blog\/vegan-bleeding-burger\/","title":{"rendered":"\u2018Bleeding\u2019 vegan burger"},"content":{"rendered":"

It looks, cooks, and apparently tastes like a meat burger \u2013 but what does the arrival of the vegan Beyond Burger mean?<\/strong><\/h2>\n

\u00a0<\/strong>This week (12 November), a plant-based burger from Beyond Meat, the US brand that has gained investors of the likes of Bill Gates and Leonardo DiCaprio, has been sold in its first UK supermarket.<\/p>\n

The burger oozes \u2018blood\u2019 using a small amount of beetroot for colour, with coconut oil and potato starch providing \u2018mouth-watering juiciness and chew\u2019.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe see the growing global demand for delicious, plant-based proteins and are excited to serve that demand in the UK with the revolutionary Beyond Burger,\u201d<\/em> said Seth Goldman, executive chair of Beyond Meat.<\/p>\n

Dominika Piasecka, spokesperson for The Vegan Society<\/a>, sees the new addition to supermarkets as a boost for veganism. She said: \u201cAnything that gives more choice for people to eat vegan food is a positive move, particularly if it comes from a large company whose products are widely available around the world.<\/em><\/p>\n

\u201cMeat alternatives allow people to enjoy familiar dishes and some of their favourite comfort foods without compromising their values of kindness and compassion<\/em>,\u201d she continued.<\/p>\n

Meat me at the end of the aisle<\/strong><\/h2>\n

\u00a0<\/strong>As in the US, the burger will be stocked in the chilled aisle \u2013 something that has come as a shock to butcher shop<\/a> owner, Phil Bennett from Leeds.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat about the vegan that really dislikes meat and doesn’t want to be in that area? It’s just to try and get under people’s skin; it should all be kept in the same aisle<\/em>,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

\u201cI just can’t understand it really, if somebody is really that much against meat, why would they want something that looks like meat \u2026 that tastes like meat? I don’t understand why they’d want it to be in the meat section<\/em>.\u201d<\/p>\n

Bennetts Quality Butchers made headlines over the summer when a member of staff waved raw meat in the faces of protesting vegans<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\"plant-based<\/h1>\n

In October, the plant-based treat launched in Honest Burger and All Bar One restaurants, but this marks the first supermarket stocking, with more than 350 Tesco stores nationwide selling the product.<\/p>\n

Costing \u00a35.50, the meat replicator is a lot more expensive than its counterparts, with the Quorn meat-free classic burger costing \u00a32.50 for two, and Vivera veggie burgers costing just \u00a32.00 (Tesco). Tesco\u2019s Finest British beef burgers cost \u00a33.00 for four.<\/p>\n

Bennett described the price of the Beyond Burger as \u201cextortionate<\/em>\u201d.<\/p>\n

Keep bleeding, keep, keep bleeding love<\/strong><\/h2>\n

\u00a0<\/strong>While the placement of the burger in the meat aisle can, and clearly has, been argued, what about the burger itself? While the FitPro jury is still out due to trying to hunt one down, award-winning burger restaurant<\/a> Cut and Grind, which serves both beef burgers and a vegan-friendly alternative, had its say on the burger\u2019s introduction to UK supermarket shelves.<\/p>\n

\u201cChoice is key in my mind and if eating a plant-based burger that replicates an average beef burger helps to reduce the total quantity of meat people eat, that\u2019s got to be a good thing<\/em>,\u201d said Paschalis Loucaides, founder of Cut and Grind Burgers, winner of National Burger of the Year 2018 for its Juicy Classic<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\u201cI do, however, still have some doubts as to the overall environmental impact of the \u2018bleeding burgers\u2019. The fact they are produced in a food factory not a kitchen, the fact that extracted chemicals are used to replicate taste and texture rather than celebrating the natural flavours of the plant they come from \u2013 we just don\u2019t yet know what the benefits are<\/em>.\u201d<\/p>\n

Have you tried the bleeding burger? Should it be stocked in the meat aisle? Vegans and meat eaters alike, let us know.<\/p>\n

We\u2019re off to try and find one \u2013 any excuse for a burger.<\/p>\n

***<\/p>\n

In other nutrition news this week:<\/p>\n

Campaign group call for ban on mega milkshakes<\/strong><\/h1>\n

\"Pile<\/p>\n

Action on Sugar survey shows \u2018excessively high\u2019 sugar levels in milkshakes sold in high street restaurants and fast food chains.<\/strong><\/h2>\n

The survey, undertaken at Queen Mary University of London, showed that some milkshakes contain as much as 39 teaspoons of sugar \u2013 more than six times the recommended daily amount for a seven-to-10 year old.<\/p>\n

Of those in the survey, Toby Carvery was found to have the milkshake with the most sugar with 156g (39 teaspoons) in its \u2018Unicorn Freakshake\u2019. The British Heart Foundation found that an average 25 year old would have to jog for nearly three hours to burn off the calorie intake (1,280kcal).<\/p>\n

While Public Health England wants to see a 20% reduction by 2022, Action on Sugar feels this is not enough and sees a complete ban on shakes containing more than 300 calories as the way forward.<\/p>\n

\u201cDespite milkshakes being incorporated into Public Health England\u2019s Sugar Reduction Programme as part of the Government\u2019s childhood obesity plan, it is clear from our survey that much more needs to be done than a 20% reduction<\/em>,\u201d said Action on Sugar\u2019s Professor MacGregor.<\/p>\n

The group are also calling for an obligatory traffic-light system of nutritional labelling across all menus.<\/p>\n

Registered nutritionist Kawther Hashem, researcher at Action on Sugar based at Queen Mary University of London, sees the lack of transparency surrounding the calorie count as another issue.<\/p>\n

\u201cUndoubtedly, some of these milkshakes contribute to excess sugar and calorie intake, and it is shocking this information is hidden from the consumer, who would struggle to find it,<\/em>\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

The group found that many out-of-home companies do not publish their nutrition information online or in their outlets, including Byron, Creams, and TGI Fridays.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

The worst-offending milkshakes, based on sugar content per serving in high street restaurants and fast food chains, were:<\/em><\/p>\n

Toby Carvery Unicorn Freakshake \u2013 156g\/39 teaspoons<\/strong>
\nFive Guys Milkshake Base + Banana + Chocolate \u2013 149g\/37 teaspoons
\n<\/strong>Five Guys Milkshake Base + Cherry \u2013 120g\/30 teaspoons<\/strong>
\nPizza Hut Salted Caramel Ice Cream Shake \u2013 95.4g\/24 teaspoons
\n<\/strong>Harvester Cookie Monster Freakshake \u2013 95g\/24 teaspoons<\/strong>
\nToby Carvery Cookie and Chocolate Freakshake \u2013 94g\/24 teaspoons<\/strong><\/p>\n

Supermarket milkshakes weren\u2019t spared either, with the worst offenders based on sugar contents per serving being:<\/em><\/p>\n

Miller Milk Frijj Chocolate Flavour 400ml \u2013 42.8g\/11 teaspoons<\/strong>
\nMiller Milk Frijj Fudge Brownie Flavour 400ml \u2013 42.8g\/11 teaspoons<\/strong>
\nMiller Milk Frijj Cookie Dough Flavour 400ml \u2013 41.6g\/10 teaspoons<\/strong><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

More delicious food content, right here.<\/a><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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