In November, McDonald’s announced plans to roll out plant-based versions of its signature items, including a burger, chicken sandwich, and breakfast sandwich made with plant-based sausage. The new menu, called the McPlant, is hardly a surprise. McDonald’s is a latecomer to the plant-based fast-food game: White Castle debuted the Impossible Slider in April 2018. Shortly after, Del Taco and Burger King added Beyond and Impossible products to their menus, respectively. Then Dunkin’ released a breakfast sandwich made with plant-based sausage, and KFC and Jack in the Box began rolling out meatless chicken in select markets. These options, part of a massive innovation boom in alternative meat, are engineered to be extremely similar to the meats they mimic. They’re different from old-school veggie burgers, which were just plant proteins like beans or soy in the shape of a small patty. These new products are still made from a mishmash of plant proteins, but they look, smell, cook, and taste like the real deal.