A Dozen Portland Eateries Now Serve the Impossible Burger, a Plant-Based Patty That Aims to “Save the World on the Terms of the Meat Eater”

Portland vegans and vegetarians have a new meat alternative to choose: the Impossible Burger.

The burger isn't a typical veggie patty. Along with plant proteins, it's the first faux-meat alternative to incorporate something called heme, which is essentially the thing that gives beef its beefy taste.

It also uses significantly less natural resources to produce than cow products.

"We're saving the world on the terms of the meat eater," David Lee, COO of Impossible Foods said this morning at TechfestNW—adding that animal products make a massive $1.5 trillion of the global market, with agriculture claiming 30 percent of global land use and 25 percent of the Earth's freshwater.

"We want meat eaters to prefer our plant-based product because it's just better," Lee said. "We bypassed the cow and made plant-made meat meaty."

Thanks to celebrity chef and social media endorsements, Lee says, the Impossible Burgers has now become a food fad.

Doug Fir Lounge, Century Bar and Burnside Brewery are among the dozen Portland restaurants and bars now serving the patty alternatives.

Lee says the company launched with the hamburger, but has plans to expand its supply chain to begin offering other types of plant-meats.

You can find a list of the Portland restaurants currently offering Impossible Burgers here.