McDonald’s to Add The Big Vegan Burger to Menu in Israel

In August, McDonald’s will launch a vegan burger, The Big Vegan, at select locations in Tel Aviv, Israel—with plans to expand the offering if proved popular during the test period. The new option will be made with Nestlé’s plant-based Incredible Burger and is similar to The Big Vegan TS that McDonald’s launched across Germany in April. More than five years ago, best-selling author Kathy Freston launched a petition to demand a vegan option at United States locations of McDonald’s and, following Burger King’s launch of the Impossible Whopper earlier this year, her petition picked up traction, gaining more than 220,000 signatures. “This is fantastic news. I am so glad that McDonald’s is expanding plant-based options around the world,” Freston said. “The entire plant-based trend is just taking off in 2019. So far we’ve seen the astronomical climb of the Beyond Meat stock, Whole Foods signing a deal with The Meatless Farm, and Burger King rolling out the Impossible Whopper nationwide.” Despite adding a variety of vegan options in countries such as Sweden, Norway, the United Kingdom, and Australia, McDonald’s has not updated its menu in the US. “We obviously have to assess whether consumer demand [would be at a] level we believe would be sustained and make the right decision based on how the model works and the important complex considerations of our restaurant,” Silvia Lagnado, Global Chief Marketing Officer and director of the McDonald’s menu in the US, said during its annual shareholder meeting in May. “The demand is there,” Freston said. “We have over 220,000 people who are hungry to try a plant-based burger from McDonald’s.”