McDonald’s Takes Control of Its Vegetable Destiny

Honestly, the name is fantastic: "McPlant." Just saying it feels like taking a bite out of something. Let's hope whichever midlevel marketing executive blurted it out into a Chicago conference room got a super-size bonus.

The name is one of the many things that probably would not have been possible had McDonald’s gone with a third-party supplier like Beyond Meat for its cow-free protein. The decision to keep its veggie-forward products in-house, announced last week, is certainly an anomaly in the fast-food world. Beyond Meat has packed in licensing deals with a crowd of chains, most notably Dunkin’ and Tim Hortons. Impossible Foods, a rival, has its meat-esque wares in thousands as well, including Burger King.