The Newest Entrant Into The Fake Meat Sweepstakes Is... Mickey D's

Oh, we knew it was coming. But now it's official: McDonald's will be selling plant-based meat, too. Take that, Impossible Whopper! How dare you suggest that Ronald McDonald is a psychotic murderer!?

The McDonald's burger, made in collaboration with Beyond Meat, will be called the P.L.T. (Which, I must admit, is a better name than Awesome Burger.) Testing will begin in 28 locations in southwestern Ontario, Canada, starting next Monday, September 30, and continue for 12 weeks, barring any Popeye's Chicken Sandwich-style catastrophes. It will be served on a sesame seed bun and topped with lettuce and tomato (naturally) and also onions, ketchup, and cheese. It will sell for $6.49 CAD plus tax, which is about $4.89 in the U.S.

Beyond Meat had problems with shortages over the past two years, but its CEO, Ethan Brown, told CNBC back in June that he is confident Beyond had learned from the experience and that it can handle supplying a large restaurant chain.

According to CNBC, McDonald's has stayed on the sidelines of the great fake meat battle until now so it could better understand the players and the game before jumping in. It has already been testing another plant burger, called The Big Vegan, in locations in Israel and Germany, but those burgers were made with Nestlé's Incredible Burger (the Awesome Burger's European cousin). A tester living in Berlin reported that The Big Vegan TS was tasty but dry. No word if they'll be able to remedy that small hiccup with cheese or condiments that are McVegan certified.