Like every other trendy diet follower, Morningstar Farms can’t wait to tell you that it’s vegan now. The Kellogg-owned company behind Chik Patties and fake bacon strips and Spicy Black Bean Burgers announced plans to makes all of its products 100% plant-based (vegan) by 2021.
Vegans who don’t read labels very well may be surprised to learn that many Morningstar Farm products contain egg whites or milk fat. Just last year, the company switched its popular Buffalo Wings, Chik’n Nuggets, and Buffalo Chik Patties recipes so vegans could work off their hangovers with Buffalo Wings like the rest of the planet.
Since Morningstar products are the most readily available heat-and-eat vegetarian foods (aside from, you know, actual fruits and vegetables), this is a big deal for customers who don’t have easy access to vegan food outside of what’s offered in the freezer section of Kroger. It’s also good news for chickens and the environment, since switching to fully plant-based offerings will reduce the use of over 300 million eggs whites annually, according to Morningstar.
“This will help us further our commitment to a greener world by helping to reduce the water waste, land usage, and carbon emissions associated with egg production,” said Mel Cash, Kellogg’s head of global marketing for plant-based protein, in a statement.
Roughly 50% of its portfolio of products have already made the switch to full vegan, and that should increase to about 65% by the end of 2019 and come 2021 all Morningstar Farms foods will be completely plant-based.
To celebrate the good news, Morningstar is also unveiling a new vegan product: The Cheezeburger, which adds plant-based cheddar “cheeze” to the fake Meat Lover’s quarter-pound patty, giving swole vegans a whopping 23 grams of plant-based protein.
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