The new craze of mid 2019 was the impossible burger, and how it was a perfect substitution for meat, allowing vegans and vegetarians to enjoy the taste of meat, without giving up their ethics. But how good for you is it really? 

Meat production is considered bad by many because of the inhumane treatment of many animals raised for food and because raising animals and producing and packaging their meat leaves a substantial carbon footprint.

But Impossible Burgers also add a dent to the environment, because of soy production. Ingredients such as wheat and soy are grown with fertilizers, causing a dead zone the size of Rhode Island, and deplete the nutrients from the soil in which they are grown. This makes crop rotation hard and limits the amount of available vegetables for farmers. Although almost everything causes emissions, soy emissions are particularly bad, and lead to parts of the amazon being burnt down just for soybean growth and emit tons of greenhouse gases. 

And Impossible Burgers may also be bad for you. The burger is highly processed and contains soy and saturated fat, while low on the protein scale. 

As I asked around for people who have tried the Impossible Burger, I came across two people. I explained how unhealthy the burgers can truly be, and asked for their opinions. Cece Ford still said that “meat production is bad because cows aren’t treated ethically” and Maren Molinaro shares “it’s bad for the environment but also bad for the animals too because of the condition the animals are kept in, and I don’t believe it’s right. It’s not good for us or the environment. I would agree that they are bad for the environment, because almost everything is, and most of the Impossible Burgers I have tried are from fast food places. For the food to be fast they have to make them quickly and in not the best ways.” 

Although most people avoid eating meat for ethical reasons or to save the environment, you truly could end up doing worse for you and the world. Be careful and do your research.