How do the Beyond Burger, the Impossible Burger, and a beef burger compare in terms of vitamins and minerals, and which is best?

Someone commented on eating vegetables / fruits for (natural) nutrients, as opposed to any good with added nutrients. I’ve always read/been told that food based vitamins are generally better absorbed. Is this true? Hence, adding "points" to a grass fed burger choice?

Is there not MSG in isolated soy and isolated pea proteins, to cover the intense plant flavor of the -isolated- proteins from these plants?

We enjoy the Beyond Burger. I prefer to eat pea protein rather than soy. Our meat consumption has been greatly reduced, and we still enjoy an occasional beef or turkey burger. My cholesterol has gone way down, so we will continue to eat less meat or smaller portions.

Why is there no mention that animal beef has hormones and antibiotics .This is another reason to switch to Impossible and Beyond Meat. Not to mention, these don't involve hurting animals either.

Each of the very processed “Burgers” contain at least 14 ingredients. My 100% all grass fed burger has ONE Beef. Also each of the manufactured patties has more calories and carbohydrates then my 100% all natural beef buger !

Perhaps I’ve missed it, but the sodium content disparity is significant. Both plant based burgers have way too much, especially for anyone with hypertension — 16%!

Maybe compare to a turkey burger? Lower carbon footprint and could probably be a good hamburger replacement for many people.

What is the amino acid breakdown? Or more to the point, are these balanced proteins in terms of essential amino acids?

ill stick to my beef and turkey burgers...i put a lot of good stuff on them to make them healthy and delicious...lots off garlic, lot of fresh garden picked homemade tomato sauce, honey...i like sweet and sour taste...yummy

Fortunately, from what I've read, The Impossible Burger is made from GMO soy. Is that what we really want to be eating? Regardless of the amount of vitamins they have over the Beyond Burger, at least the Beyond Burger does not have GMOs. I'll get my vitamins elsewhere thanks.

Are there any thoughts on this statement from an article: Leghemoglobin in a burger is contentious for a couple of reasons. Leghemoglobin has never been consumed by humans before, and Impossible Foods did very little safety testing before including it in their burger.

So, whatever happened to the black bean based patties that used to be the meatless burger replacement of choice only a few years ago? I actually preferred those to what's available today, in terms of taste. (I don't really care how "meat-like" a burger replacement is in terms of taste/texture.) How would they compare in terms of nutrients, sodium, etc.?

In the summer of 2018, my 44 year old son ate an Impossible Burger, for the first and only time, at lunch in a restaurant in LA. As he was driving back to work, he began to have difficulty breathing. He called his wife who advised him to go to an urgent care facility. The urgent care called an ambulance whose medics began treating him immediately for anaphylatic shock while they transported him to a hospital. He had a severe allergic reaction and became very swollen. He had never had anaphylactic shock before. He was accustomed to eating soy burgers, but something in this GMO burger was different. The hospital treated him successfully and kept him for 24 hours. He now must carry an Epi-pen. He even has to be concerned about eating other foods that might have been cooked on the same grill as an Impossible Burger. If you have a child with allergies who eats an Impossible Burger, please be on the lookout for a reaction. Obviously, adults have to be aware of an allergic reaction also. This might be a rare occurrence, but a life-threatening reaction can occur when eating the Impossible Burger.

Eating any of these three burgers in order to get your daily vitamin and minerals is absurd. I hope most people (especially ConsumerLab members) can make better choices for their micronutrient needs. These burgers should be enjoyed as a tasty treat only. Many people are choosing the plant-based burgers for environmental reasons (drastically lower carbon footprint vs. animal protein). Some people are choosing them for ethical reasons regarding animal welfare. Nutritionally? Well, if you really care about that, eat lots of fruits (start with berries) and vegetables (start with dark leafy greens and legumes) to crowd out any sugary, processed, and animal foods. Bad food should never be dressed up with enough vitamins and minerals to be considered part of anyone’s nutritional needs.

For people like me, who struggle to control IBD symptoms, the Impossible Burger is literally impossible to digest. The Beyond Burger on the other hand, is mostly pea protein. I don’t know what it is about pea protein, but pea proteins shakes have sometimes been the only thing I *can* digest when I’m having a flare up. This might matter to “healthy” people, too: As I tell my husband, I’m the food canary in your coal mine.

Studies on red meat generally fail to recognize the tremendously different nutrient profiles in 100% grass-fed beef and conventional corn/soy fattened beef that is produced unnaturally, with cattle that are force-fed "foods" that they are not genetically programmed to consume.

Cattle allowed to roam on pastures and their genetically- programmed natural foods and consume grass and legumes have about 65% as much total fat, 400% more vitamin E, more selenium, about five time more omega-3 fats, four times more selenium, fewer trans-fats, and more vitamin K2.

Consumerlab could do a great service and inform America about the superior nutrient profile of 100% grass-fed beef. We are already seeing fast-food burger shops that feature 100% grass-fed burgers in progressive communities, such as Los Angeles, and Portland.

The meatless burgers are really just more highly processed "natural" food that is in no way "natural." We can't put together numerous natural elements and call the end product "natural."

You'e said nothing about the genetically modified soy and yeast in the Impossible Burger. People have a right to know when they are eating GMOs

Awhile back I read that the Impossible burger has high amounts of glyphosate in them, something else that should be considered in an overall comparison.

I think this would be much more helpful if the figures weren't for the uncooked product. The average consumer isn't likely to know, or be able to determine, the effects of cooking on the numbers.

The Beyond Burger and Impossible Burger are both highly processed. I wish the CL review would have covered Amy's Burger, which is mentioned at the end of the helpful article in the Consumer Reports link that Tracey18343 cites immediately below this post:

"The Amy’s burger doesn’t try to taste like meat, but it does taste good: a big mushroom and nutty flavor with a crispy exterior and chewy grains. It's also healthier, with less sodium, fat, and calories, and fewer highly processed ingredients."

Good to know info but not what I would base my choice of product on. Impossible Burger is mostly synthetic, chemical based lab product which is why it's s strange it doesn't match beef in it's vitamin/mineral composition. Beyond Burger is "real" food, plant based so people who eat plant based diets know the vitamin/mineral composition isn't the same as meat and compensate. There are LOTS of other articles out there comparing the different products but Consumer Reports has a good overall look at them. https://www.consumerreports.org/nutrition-healthy-eating/meat-gets-a-makeover/.

My concern with meatless burgers is the amount of phytoestrogens present in the product. If you’ve had or have a hormonal related cancer (eg. breast, prostate) or if you have a genetic predisposition to one of those cancers, it seems that these burgers would be contraindicated for consumption. Of course, if an individual is eating hormone fed beef, it’s probably no different. Personally, being a RN with a maternal familial history of breast cancer, I avoid phytoestrogens and only eat organic animal proteins that have not been given added hormones.

One thing that is not discussed here is the amount of fat in both the Impossible and Beyond burgers. Both burgers have high levels of fat and sodium so they may not be a good alternative to meat from a nutritional stand point.