VICTORY: Beyond Meat Signs Supply Deal With McDonald’s 

October 2021 update: Starting November 3, McDonald’s will offer the McPlant at eight of the fast food giant’s restaurants, including in Irving and Carrollton, Texas, Cedar Falls, Iowa, Jennings and Lake Charles, Louisiana and El Segundo and Manhattan Beach, California.

Still very much in the early stages, McDonald’s is positioning the deal as a “test” of Beyond’s patties, which are made from plant-based ingredients, including peas, rice and potatoes. The deal follows similar piloting in a number of international locations, including Sweden, Denmark, the Netherlands, Austria and the U.K./Ireland, the latter of which launched last month.

Late last year, we celebrated McDonald’s announcement that it would test a “McPlant” plant-based meat line in select markets in 2021. And while McDonald’s said initially that they would create this line in-house, Beyond Meat announced yesterday new deals to supply plant-based meat to McDonald’s as well as KFC and Pizza Hut (huge congratulations to Ethan Brown and the Beyond Meat team!).

This exciting news comes following years of pressure from Animal Outlook, with support from other animal advocacy groups, for McDonald’s to add plant-based options to its menu. 

Fast-food chains like Burger King, White Castle and Carl’s Jr. already offer plant-based menu items. They’ve credited this move with bringing in new diners and building buzz. And while McDonald’s offers the McVegan in Sweden and Finland, the Big Vegan TS in Germany, and trialed the P.L.T. featuring a Beyond Meat patty in Canada, they had yet to commit to adding vegan options to the menu globally until now.

Beyond’s three-year agreement with McDonald’s includes working with the burger giant on potential chicken, pork and egg alternatives. This is a huge step toward bringing vegan into the mainstream. With plant-based options increasingly accessible, people can more easily reduce or eliminate their meat, dairy and egg consumption.

According to The Wall Street Journal, McDonald’s said that partnering with Beyond is an important step in the company’s long-term strategy to develop plant-based menu items – and we couldn’t agree more. Click here to tweet at the chain and let them know how excited you are about its partnership with Beyond Meat and its commitment to adding plant-based options to its menu.

Thanks to generous supporters, Animal Outlook’s corporate engagement team works every day to put vegan options on menus around the world. Help make lasting change for animals  by supporting our campaigns and giving today at animaloutlook.org/donate. 

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