McDonald’s Austria is now serving its McPlant burger with a vegan patty throughout the country. Aimed at flexitarians rather than vegans, the McPlant in Austria is served with dairy cheese and egg-based mayonnaise and cooked on the same grill as meat.
Having already been tested sporadically in Canada, Sweden, and Denmark – with much positive feedback – the McPlant will be available at all McDonald’s locations in Austria while stocks last. The burger features a Beyond Meat patty that McDonald’s stresses is unique to its menus and differs from the famous Beyond Burger available in other outlets.
As its biggest global rival Burger King leads the way in plant-based fast-food innovation, McDonald’s is at risk of falling behind the competition. The global chain is currently developing its McPlant platform with a three-year partnership with Beyond Meat, though McDonald’s has yet to add a plant-based meat option to its menus in the US.
If consumers do not mind the possibility of cross-contamination the burger can be “veganized” with the omission of cheese and mayonnaise. However, most vegans would argue that McDonald’s is “deveganizing” a perfectly vegan burger with those additions in the first place, following the line of other fast-food giants like Pizza Hut who continue to exclude vegan consumers from their plant-based products.
