March 29, 2024

Burger King opens an all-vegan branch in Portugal

Burger King opens an all-vegan branch in Portugal

Burger King Portugal is following in the footsteps of the UK and Israel in opening all-vegan restaurants.

The Burger King branch in the Portuguese capital, Lisbon, has announced that it will be 100% vegan for a month.

The fast food chain opened its vegan pop-up in its Rua de Belém branch on November 4. Only vegetarian food will be served there until the beginning of December.

The restaurant changed its menu, decor, and dishes to accommodate the move. It no longer contains any meat products at all.

“We have removed all animal products from our kitchen to ensure food safety,” Jorge Carvalho, General Manager of Burger King Spain and Portugal, said in a statement. “The cheese and bacon are vegan, and the desserts, mayonnaise, and even the items in the restaurant, such as cups, towels, packaging, and bags, have all been carefully selected.”

Customers can choose from a range of vegan versions of the chain’s best-selling menu items. These include the Whopper chicken nuggets. Dishes are made with meat alternatives from The Vegetable Butcher.

In 2017, it became the first country to ban public entities such as schools, universities, hospitals, and prisons from not offering vegan options.

This came after 15,000 people signed a petition urging the government to do so.

In the same year, the number of people identifying as vegetarian increased by 400 percent.

Burger King is based on plant foods

A few years ago it would have been unbelievable that Burger King catered to vegans so well.

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However, in recent months, the chain has seen rapid growth in its plant-based options. Burger King attributes this to consumer preferences and plans to reduce its environmental footprint.

Portugal’s all-vegan Burger King is following in the footsteps of similar offshoots. These include London and Bristol in the UK and Tel Aviv in Israel.

In January 2022, Burger King in the UK pledged to make 50 percent of its menu meat-free by 2030.

“Adapting to customer preferences is key for Burger King,” Alasdair Murdoch, the chain’s UK managing director, said at the time. “We strive to help our guests make good choices about what they eat and drink and provide them with informed choices.

Animal husbandry is a major contributor to the climate crisis. It causes at least 14.5 percent of greenhouse gas emissions. It is also responsible for biodiversity loss and deforestation.

Murdoch added: “The launch is another positive step in reducing our carbon footprint and encouraging innovation in our menus in response to the growing demand for meat-free alternatives and animal protein products in the UK.”