McDonald's tests meat-free Beyond Meat burger in Canada

McDonald's

McDonald's meat-free P.L.T.

• McDonald's is teaming up with Beyond Meat to test a plant-based burger in Canada.
• The burger, called the P.L.T. or "Plant. Lettuce. Tomato.," will appear on menus in Southern Ontario for 12-weeks starting on September 30.
• McDonald's has been under pressure to add a veggie burger to the menu, as other chains team up with plant-based "meat" makers like Beyond Meat and Impossible Foods.
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McDonald's is teaming up with Beyond Meat.

On Thursday, the fast-food giant announced that it will partner with Beyond Meat to serve a new plant-based burger at 28 locations in Canada. The burger, called the P.L.T. or "Plant. Lettuce. Tomato.," will appear on menus in Southern Ontario for 12-weeks starting on September 30.

Like the Beyond Meatball Marinara sub at Subway or Impossible Foods' Impossible Whopper at Burger King, the P.L.T. has been made exclusively for McDonald's, in partnership with a plant-based "meat" startup. According to McDonald's nutritional information, the P.L.T. has 460 calories and 25 grams of fat.

Read more: Plant-based fast food isn't any healthier than the originals - and that's the point

Ann Wahlgren, McDonald's vice president of global menu strategy, said in a statement that the chain has been "been working on our recipe and now we're ready to hear feedback from our customers."

"During this test, we're excited to hear what customers love about the P.L.T. to help our global markets better understand what's best for their customers," said Wahlgren.

"This test allows us to learn more about real-world implications of serving the P.L.T., including customer demand and impact on restaurant operations."

As other chains have teamed up with Impossible Foods and Beyond Meat to roll out meat-free menu items, McDonald's has been under pressure to do the same. Currently, Baked Apple Pie is the only vegan item on McDonald's American menu.

In a call with investors in April, McDonald's CEO Steve Easterbrook said that the chain was playing close attention to and internally discussing vegan and plant-based menu items.

However, before adding a new plant-based menu item, Easterbrook said, McDonald's needs to establish: "Is there an additional complexity? And if there is, is that complexity worth it?"