{"id":28876,"date":"2020-06-10T18:36:26","date_gmt":"2020-06-10T18:36:26","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/bisoncentral.com\/?p=28876"},"modified":"2025-01-08T10:40:09","modified_gmt":"2025-01-08T17:40:09","slug":"whats-in-your-burger","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/nationalbison.org\/whats-in-your-burger\/","title":{"rendered":"What&#8217;s In Your Burger?"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><em>Plant-based protein.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">It\u2019s all the rage in the world of food these days.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">&nbsp;News media business pages are filled with stories of plant-based protein startups gaining shelf space in grocery stores. Old-line meat companies are rolling out new lines of \u201cplant-based\u201d protein. A legion of exhibitors at the Natural Products Expo West show in Anaheim, CA in March touted their \u201cplant-based protein\u201d offerings with claims of better nutrition and environmental benefits.&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">So, just what<em> is<\/em> \u201cplant-based protein?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The basic definition is a high-protein food made exclusively from plants. That is a very accurate definition of bison meat. In fact, if we could list an \u201cingredient panel\u201d on a package of bison meat, it would probably read, \u201cgrass, grain, minerals.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Let\u2019s compare that to one of the new upstarts: Impossible Burger. I don\u2019t have enough space here to go through all 21 ingredients on their list, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/groups\/Soil4Climate\/permalink\/2702432830028454\/\">14 of which are patented<\/a> as intellectual property. So, I focused in on a few:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Soy leghemoglobin<\/strong> \u2013 This ingredient has been genetically engineered by inserting the DNA of GMO soy leghemoglobin into yeast and fermenting it into something that resembles the blood in real meat. \u00a0<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Zinc gluconate<\/strong> \u2013 This is \u201cthe zinc salt of gluconic acid, and is an ionic compound consisting of two anions of gluconate for each zinc cation.\u201d Yeah, I don\u2019t understand that one either, but it sure doesn\u2019t sound like plants are involved. In all fairness, it\u2019s commonly used in dietary supplements, usually with the warning, \u201cconsult physician before use.\u201d<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Here\u2019s my favorite:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Methylcellulose<\/strong>\u2013 The first description that popped up when I Googled this one describes it as \u201ca bulk-forming laxative that increases the amount of water in your stools to help make them softer and easier to pass.\u201d<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Okay, so these plant-based proteins aren\u2019t quite as simple as touted, but they certainly have nutritional benefit\u2026right?&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Not exactly.&nbsp; A 100-gram serving of Impossible Burger provides 212 calories, 13 grams of fat and 17 grams of protein, while a similar serving of Beyond Meat delivers 239 calories, 15 grams of fat and 24 grams of protein. Meanwhile, the nutritional panel on a leading ground bison brand lists 190 calories, 11 grams of fat and 23 grams of protein. When it comes to sodium, Impossible Burger has 327 milligrams, Beyond Meat has 513 milligrams, and bison has 60 milligrams. That makes sense. Salt always makes bland food more palatable, even as it clogs arteries.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Then, there\u2019s the claim of environmental benefits. Seriously? &nbsp;Nearly 40 percent of North America\u2019s ecosystem\u2014the grasslands\u2014evolved under continuous interaction with bison and other grazing animals. Bison sculpted the landscape, creating an ecosystem with healthy soils that sequester carbon and are lush with a diversity of plant and animal life.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The University of California at Davis last year published a study entitled <em>Grasslands More Resilient Carbon Sink than Forests<\/em>. The study concluded, \u201c(G)rasslands store more carbon than forests because they are impacted less by droughts and wildfires. This doesn\u2019t even include the potential benefits of good land management to help boost soil health and increase carbon stocks in rangelands.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">I doubt that soy leghemoglobin, zinc gluconate, or methylcellulose can effectively manage those grasslands as effectively as bison and other grazers.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Finally, there\u2019s the claim of taste. Really? Not even close. Just click on the recipes found elsewhere on this website. Deliciously healthy bison remains unmatched in flavor, nutrition and environmental benefits.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">That\u2019s why bison can rightfully claim to be <em>Nature\u2019s Original Plant-Based Protein<\/em>.&nbsp;&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">&nbsp;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Plant-based protein. It\u2019s all the rage in the world of food these days. &nbsp;News media business pages are filled with stories of plant-based protein startups gaining shelf space in grocery &#8230; <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":13,"featured_media":28877,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"inline_featured_image":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-28876","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-stories"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v28.6 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>What&#039;s In Your Burger? - National Bison Association<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/nationalbison.org\/whats-in-your-burger\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"What&#039;s In Your Burger? - National Bison Association\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Plant-based protein. 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