Today is a big day, even a bit epoch-making, for the fast food and vegetarian worlds.

Because KFC, one of the fast food giants, finally teamed up with Beyond Meat® to launch the highly anticipated nationwidePlant-Based Chicken Nuggets.This marks that KFC has become the first fast-food chain in the United States to launch "artificial meat" vegetarian fried chicken products.

Beginning January 2022, 1 (that is, this Monday), KFC stores across the United States will offer plant-based chicken nuggets for a limited time.It has a unique name👇

Beyond Fried Chicken 

This fried chicken was specially developed by Beyond Meat® for KFC. As early as August 2019, the test was launched in Atlanta, and it was sold out in 8 hours. If it weren't for this epidemic, the vegetarian chicken might have been long ago. on the menu.

In 2020, the beta was expanded to Nashville and Charlotte, and it was trialed at select restaurants in Southern California that same year, and in just one week, all vegan chicken nuggets were sold out.The demeanor of fast-food vegetarian chicken was experienced by the world for the first time.

The artificial meat fried chicken nuggets launched this time are priced from $6.99, but there will be regional differences. There are single items or sets of 6 chickens or 12 chickens available.

The CEO of KFC proudly announced: "We have accomplished the difficult task of making the world-famous KFC fried chicken from plants!"

I heard that chicken nuggets can still taste delicious and juicy, and with such a plant-based option, fast food seems to have changed and become healthier.The most excited should be vegetarians, because vegetarians can also eat KFC!

In order to ensure that the new vegetarian chicken can be eaten as soon as possible, I went to the KFC store closest to my home and stepped on it two days in advance.

The guy at the counter is handsome and kind, and repeatedly told me that the vegetarian chicken is not vegan chicken, but vegetable protein chicken, and he also gave me a free drink.Now, I'm sitting in the store, ready to try this box of steaming vegetarian fried chicken in my hand.

Let's talk about perception first.Whether it is the appearance or the interior, the vegetarian chicken is indeed the same as the chicken, and even the texture of the chicken fiber is very realistic.At first glance, this is a real piece of chicken.Here I have to sigh about the magic of technology. It cannot be said that it is irrelevant, it is absolutely the same.

In terms of taste, if you taste it carefully, you can still taste the difference.Vegetarian chicken lacks some of the meatiness and toughness unique to real chicken. It is relatively soft, but it looks similar after frying. It is no problem to eat a meal every day.

If the full score is 5, I can give this vegan chicken a 4.3. The taste of the real thing is higher than expected, which is a surprise.

1. How to order?

有6块鸡、12块鸡的单品，也可以点6块鸡和12块鸡的套餐。我选了6块鸡套餐，包含薯条和饮料，税后价格$9.20

2. Oil for fried chicken?

I specifically asked the store manager that the oil used to fry vegetarian chicken is vegetable soybean oil, which is neither vegan nor vegetarian in essence, that is, the conventional oil used in chain stores.therefore,"Vegetarian chicken" is not really vegan, it's just that the chicken nuggets themselves are vegetarian.

In other words, it's not for true vegetarians, it's just an experience for guests who want to try a plant-based diet.

KFC's "vegetarian chicken" is the largest promotion of plant-based chicken in the United States so far.

This time, in cooperation with Beyond Meat®, as a fast food chain, KFC has brought the vegetarian trend back to people's attention.In fact, vegetarianism has never stopped all over the world; but the two groups who choose to be vegetarians and meat eaters, in addition to still pointing to each other, are also quite fond of KFC's new "vegetarian chicken". critical words.

This screenshot of a comment from a Weibo netizen has a huge amount of information.In China, where there are more vegetarian options and more traditional inheritance, artificial meat has always faced wait-and-see and doubts, and KFC, the representative of the class, has no specific reason even as the only supporter.

And American netizens on YouTube have two most concentrated problems – Price, and how to ensure that the oil used to fry the chicken is alsoVegetable oil.

But the previous manager has confirmed that it is not vegetarian oil, which means that it is vegetarian but not vegetarian friendly. In a sense, it is not even vegetarian friendly.At Walmart, frozen broiler chicken nuggets are already on the shelves, which are cheaper and more convenient, and you can make sure to use vegetarian oil when you go home and fry them yourself.

When Beyond Meat® was founded in 2009, it made a name for itself by offering a range of plant-based proteins that it claims have the same taste and texture as animal meat, while being kinder to people and the planet.

But if this shift can really have a positive impact on human health, climate change, natural resources and animal welfare, why is the company's stock price continuing to fall?Even to the point of hugging KFC's thighs?

It is reported that Beyond Meat® will cooperate with Pizza Hut and Taco Bell next to launch more plant-based protein fast food products.Artificial beef, artificial sausage, artificial chicken, will you choose to eat it?

Writer | Jane