Burger King Boss Says Half Of Meat Burgers Will Be Replaced With Plant-Based Burgers By 2031

Burger King's UK CEO says beef burgers will be soon replaced by plant-based burgers in attempt to fight climate crisis. 

The fast food chain is set to launch new plant-based dishes including chicken ‘Royale’ burger this week, as part of its commitment to curb its carbon footprint. 

The chain’s UK CEO Alasdair Murdoch confirmed to iNews that the ‘Rebel Whopper’, 'Royale' and meat-free nuggets would appear on menus in the coming weeks as the covid-19 restrictions lift. 

He said: “When we bring in a plant-based product… there is probably an equal and opposite reaction where we are taking something else off.” 

“Are there going to be less meat products? Ultimately, you would say yes.”

He predicts that within a decade, up to 50 per cent of Burger King’s menu could be plant-based. 

“Over time the amount of beef that we are selling as a proportion of our total sales is reducing,” he said. 

This week, Burger King announced a new sustainability agenda and has pledged to limit its use of single use plastic by 2025, source sustainable soy and coffee and cut food waste. 

Although the chain wants to expand the plant-based menu in the future it has no plans to stop serving beef.

“We know the direction of travel, we are embracing the direction of travel and we are trying to get ahead of it,” he said. “But we are also still very proud of our beef.” 

The company may consider introducing lab-grown meat in the future once its price is more affordable and the technology allows the companies to scale the production but Murdoch warns that cell-based meat is still too expensive and the customers are not ready for that yet. 

“Our customers, I don’t think they are quite ready for that today,” he said. “It doesn’t mean they won’t ever be in the future, but our sense would be that they aren’t quite there.”