Boston Celtics point guard Kyrie Irving is backing Beyond Meat’s Beyond Burger in a commercial, according to the Los Angeles Times.
After going vegetarian to lose weight, Irving—at the time a bench player for the Mavericks—found the Beyond Burger from plant-based producer Beyond Meat in a Whole Foods. He told The Times:
I was just looking for vegan stuff, saw the name and was like, “Let me try this,” and it was really good. Like I couldn’t tell the difference between that and meat. I thought, “If I can make it taste good and I’m not really a cook, imagine what a chef could do.”
According to Beyond Meat’s Instagram account, brand ambassador Irving is kicking off the company’s new #GoBeyond campaign, “spotlighting the spirit and drive to reach the unattainable—the same spirit that created Beyond Meat and propels our mission to perfectly build meat directly from plants.”
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Earlier this month, the Beyond Burger became the first plant-based meat to be featured in a Super Bowl commercial. But that’s not all: Beyond Meat claimed another first when its vegan patty sold alongside ground beef in supermarket meat cases.
Consumers worldwide are wild about Beyond Meat’s products. To keep up with demand, the company recently opened a second production facility and hired hundreds of employees in Missouri.
In Canada, the Beyond Burger is so popular at A&W fast-food restaurants that it sold out completely in a month and was unavailable due to a shortage of the plant protein used to make it. Because of high consumer demand, a Canadian federal program set aside $153 million in funding to enable the country to provide more plant-based protein.
Beyond Meat has now sold more than 25 million Beyond Burgers worldwide, and its products are sold in restaurant chains TGI Fridays, Veggie Grill, and Del Taco.
With great products like the Beyond Burger becoming more accessible around the world, it’s never been easier to ditch animal products. And more people enjoying vegan food is great news for the billions of animals who suffer horribly at factory farms. Cows, pigs, and chickens raised and killed for food are subjected to unthinkable cruelties: tiny, filthy cages; burns and amputations; and merciless slaughter.
For recipes with the delicious burger, click here.
Not yet vegan? Learn how to make the switch by downloading our FREE Vegetarian Starter Guide today.
Photo: Erik Daniel Drost
