Where, Oh Where, Is Our Promised McPlant?

Late last year, we reported on a leafy green announcement from McDonald's: the chain planned to test a new plant-based burger dubbed The McPlant. McDonald's announced that it had signed a three-year global agreement with Beyond Meat to develop the new McPlant line, and that the rollout would begin sometime in 2021. But while the chain has begun testing the burger in Europe, Americans are still left scratching our little plant-based heads. Where is our plant-based burger, McDonald's? Someone get Ronald on the horn, STAT.

As Eat This, Not That! reports, the McPlant product line is expected to include both burgers and breakfast sandwich patties, with the potential for a plant-based chicken alternative down the line. According to a McDonald's blog post, the company's culinary team really "nailed it" when developing the product. So where, pray tell, is the U.S. McPlant?

Answer: the McPlant is in Sweden and Denmark. Earlier this year, McDonald's started testing the new burger in those two European markets. "McDonald's Sweden and Denmark are currently conducting local market tests of the McPlant at a limited number of restaurants," a McDonald's spokesperson told Eat This. "We expect other McDonald's markets will test the McPlant later this year and into the future. This will be a market-by-market decision based on local customer demand."

Unfortunately, Eat This reports, the chain declined to provide a timeline for McPlant's stateside launch. Is it an issue of, as the company calls it, "local consumer demand?" Is McDonald's hesitant to introduce the burger in meat-centric markets like the U.S.? Or is this just another case of domestic U.S. consumers missing out on the very best fast food innovations? Either way, we don't have an ETA on the McPlant for you at this time. Go, McDonald's! Give us nothing!