McPlant with Eric Edelstein

"McPlant with Eric Edelstein" is Episode 329 of *Doughboys*, hosted by Mike Mitchell and Nick Wiger. "McPlant with Eric Edelstein" was released on December 9, 2021.

## Synopsis

Eric Edelstein (*Jurassic World*, *We Bare Bears*, *Green Room*) joins the 'boys to discuss dining alone and meeting your heroes before a review of McDonald's new McPlant burger. Plus, another edition of Sauceton Powers.

## Nick's intro

Founded in 1948 by its namesake brothers and later expanded nationally by Ray Kroc, the burger chain known for its Golden Arches and golden french fries is inarguably the most iconic brand in fast food.

And while the company today has fewer stores than Starbucks or Subway, in terms of sales, it remains the largest chain restaurant in the country. That's reflected in its economic impact: the brand is not just America's, but the world's, single largest purchaser of beef. And this bountiful beef-buying is reflected in its ecological impact: beef requiring on average eleven times as much water to produce as pork or poultry, setting aside the methane impact from commercial feed lots and the ethics of industrializated slaughterhouses.

So in October of 2020, when the chain officially announced its own plant-based burger, although other sector stalwarts like Burger King and Carl's Jr./Hardee's had gotten there first, it still caused a massive ripple in agribusiness. Speaking to the irrationality of the stock market, plant-based pioneer Beyond Meat saw its shares plummet on the news amid speculation as to the supplier... until it was confirmed the fast-food chain's veggie patty was in fact made by Beyond Meat.

In September of 2021, after nearly a year of hype, the company rolled out its plant-based product in the United Kingdom. And, then in November, they debuted it stateside in select markets. Unlike its UK counterpart, the US sandwich is not fully vegan, as it includes mayonnaise and American cheese, by default; reportedly after pressure from the domestic dairy lobby.

Still, the nation's largest hamburgery offering a plant-based protein is a seismic event in the history of fast food, and for Beyond Meat founder, Ethan Brown, a dream come true. As Twitter cofounder, Biz Stone, an early investor in Beyond, said of Brown to the *LA Times*, "this was a guy who, from the beginning, was saying 'we are going to be in McDonald's.'"

This week on *Doughboys*, we return to McDonald's for the McPlant.

## Fork rating

* McPlant
* Fries
 Mike Mitchell
* McPlant
* Fries
 Eric Edelstein
5 forks (if you add your own condiments)

Nick used Eric's 5 fork score to place the McPlant in the Golden Plate Club, so that's the canon score.

## Sauceton Powers in Greenmember

In Sauceton Powers, yea baby, Nick reads the ingredients of a sauce, one-by-one, and the first person to buzz in tries to guess what it is. They sort of did this once before on an episode in 2018 with Bug Mane, who didn't take it seriously.

For this episode, the theme is Sauceton Powers in Greenmember (all the sauces are green).

This edition of Sauceton Powers ends in a tie!

## The Feedbag

Can you think of any items that you loved that were replaced with a new version that lost you?

 Mike Mitchell
* KFC Zinger Sandwich
 Eric Edelstein
* McDonald's Arch Deluxe

## Photos

McPlantMcPlantFriesUnsweetened Iced TeaMcPlantMcPlantFriesCoca-Cola