There are hundreds of successful competitors in the burger business already, so how does a newcomer compete? Make a burger that helps save the planet, of course. Pat Brown, a biochemistry professor at Stanford, created a meatless burger for meat lovers. The plan for the company is to completely replace animals as a food production technology. “We want you to be able to see the impact of the Impossible Burger from outerspace,” he said. The burger with a mission uses 95 percent land, 87 percent lower greenhouse gas emissions, and 74 percent less water than the conventional burger. “Cows are the most destructive technology in the world. We love our food from meats, but this burger gives you that without the damage to the environment,” Pat continued.

The burger is now available at Umami Burger. Chef Gregg Frazer, COO of the Umami Restaurant Group, cooked up a recipe and we were lucky enough to take one of the first bites. When we were presented with our plate, we saw something that looked just like a beef burger, dressed with pickles, lettuce, their signature sauce in between a fluffy bun pressed with the restaurant’s logo. And then we tasted it. It tasted just like a beef burger too, juicy and thick with flavor.

So if it looks and tastes like a burger, but it’s not from a cow, then what is it? It’s actually made of wheat and potato proteins, coconut oil, “We take ingredient from natures and combine it with human ingenuity,” Pat said. “Cows are the most destructive technology in the world. We love our food from foods, but this burger gives you that without the damage to the environment.”

VIDEO COURTESY OF: IMPOSSIBLE FOODS