Starbucks Introduces Plant-Based Impossible Breakfast Sandwich in the US

Hero image credit: Starbucks

Starting today Starbucks is offering a plant-based breakfast sandwich with plant-based Impossible sausage at locations throughout the US. The new sandwich joins other menu options Starbucks has released in recent years as more consumers seek to reduce their meat consumption. 

Within the last year, Starbucks partnered with Beyond Meat, a competitor of Impossible, to offer similar plant-based sandwiches in Canada and China. Michael Kobori, Starbucks’ chief sustainability officer said in announcing the sandwich, “Over the years, in response to customer interest, we have added plant-based milk alternatives such as soy, coconut, almond, and oat milk. We are thrilled to expand our plant-based menu into food with this new breakfast sandwich.” 

This exciting announcement follows several meetings with World Animal Protection, as well as shared resources on plant-based innovation with the coffee chain about the importance of animal welfare and meat reduction. Starbucks was listed as a “top performer” in the US in World Animal Protection’s recent report, The Pecking Order, for committing to Global Animal Partnership (GAP) broiler chicken standards throughout North America. We applaud Starbucks’ commitment to giving customers an option to eat less meat and believe diversifying protein offerings is a critical step in improving the lives of factory-farmed animals across the country. 

Factory farming came to existence to satisfy an ever-increasing demand for meat. However, with companies like Starbucks diversifying protein options, consumers in the United States—which has one of the highest rates of meat consumption in the world—can reduce their meat consumption and lower the overall demand for cruelly-produced meat. World Animal Protection expects that factory farming can start being phased out, creating a shift towards practices that are more sustainable and kinder to animals. By eating less meat and more plant-based foods, we can put an end to many of the cruelest factory farming practices, such as extreme confinement, the overuse of antibiotics, and brutal mutilations. 

Driving the global demand away from factory-farmed meat is companies meeting their customers' concerns about the planet, their health, and animal welfare. A recent Gallop poll found that 1 in 4 Americans have been eating less meat in the past 12 months. This poll follows a Mintel report on dining out that found more than one in five diners want restaurants to offer more plant-based entrees.

So what are you waiting for? Join the movement of people committed to helping the planet, their health, and countless animals by eating more plant-based foods and only consuming meat from small family farms. Pledge to #EatLessMeat today!