KFC launches new Beyond Chicken…but is it really for vegans?

KFC in the United States has recently launched the latest collaboration with Beyond Meat® in 2022 and has now added ‘beyond fried chicken’ to its menu repertoire. It is 100% plant-based and visually similar to deep-fried nuggets. The KFC website states,  “It’s a protein made from plants instead of animals.” This seems promising and even got me excited for a moment. However, it didn’t require much digging to discover that this product is not at all vegan. It is fried in the same fryers as the chicken and is thus marinated in chicken-infused fat…not exactly plant-based. This begs the question: who is this for? Certainly not for vegans. The argument can’t even be made that it is for vegetarians as it doesnt fall under that description either. 

KFC was really close to hitting a home run with this one; it would not be a difficult switch to devote a fryer solely to the beyond chicken to avoid cross-contamination. This would broaden their consumer base which is what it seems like they were trying to do. Unfortunately, they missed the mark on this one. Many vegans have already spoken out about it; hopefully, it gets heard and KFC makes the simple switch.

Article written by Natalie Miller- United States