McDonald’s testing McPlant burger made with Montana peas

McDonald's has been testing its McPlant burger in select outlet stores, and next month, it is set to bring its plant-based burger made with Montana peas to Iowa, Louisiana, and Texas. The company developed the vegan burger with Beyond Meat, and the USA Dry Pea and Lentil Council said that this is good news for the pulse growers in the U.S.

Montana's KTVQ News reported that Todd Scholz, USA Pulses vice president of research and member services, said that due to the export challenges that the pulses are facing recently, an increase in domestic demand means a lot to them. Since McDonald's is using peas to make its McPlant burger, they are expecting some orders.

"The peas are grown in Montana and North Dakota, which are the two biggest producers in the United States," Scholz said. "If we can sell the McDonald's, that is an increase in demand we can really use to expand our production and expand our usage and it is just really exciting."

He went on to say, "Having a domestic demand for peas is really important to U.S. producers and the potential is huge. McDonald's is usually successful and they've usually done their market analysis so they have a pretty good idea that this is going to work."

The McDonald's McPlant burger is coming to the mentioned cities on Nov. 3. Then again, despite the shift to plant-based ingredients, Scholz believes the original beef burger in the restaurant will still remain and will not be replaced anytime soon. Rather, the meat and vegan menu will be sold side by side.

At any rate, aside from the Montana peas, the McPlant burger has two other main ingredients, and these are rice and potatoes. McDonald's is already selling this menu item in other countries such as Sweden and Denmark.

Meanwhile, the company first announced the series of testing for its McPlant burger two weeks ago, and the trial already commenced in some states. In its blog post, McDonald's stated that they are always testing new food items and flavors, and this particular test for the McPlant will certainly help them understand how offering a burger with plant-based patty impacts the kitchens in their stores.