# Any fast-food restaurants that actually use soy protein in their hamburgers, etc.? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [October 11, 2003, 9:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-fast-food-restaurants-that-actually-use-soy-protein-in-their-hamburgers-etc/206901 "2003-10-11T21:06:02Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 7\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![I\_can\_t\_believe\_that\_s\_butter](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/8edcca/32.png) [@I\_can\_t\_believe\_that\_s\_butter](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/I_can_t_believe_that_s_butter)\ **Post date:** [October 11, 2003, 9:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-fast-food-restaurants-that-actually-use-soy-protein-in-their-hamburgers-etc/206901/1 "2003-10-11T21:06:02Z")
We’ve all heard a joke, I’m sure, similar to such at one point in our lives: Jon: …ah, here’s a (McDonald’s) burger left over. Want it, Jack? Jack: Nah, I’m full. Care for it, Lisa? Lisa: No thanks, I’m vegetarian. Sue: Don’t worry; it’s not meat, it’s McDonalds… _and, a laugh was had by all._ It seems, however, that McDonald’s _does_ use 100% pure beef in their patties. Therefore, I’m wondering if there are any fast food chains that indeed use something like soy protein to stretch the beef, all the while making no steadfast claims about their “hamburgers made with beef”? ---
**Author:** ![occ](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/8c91f0/32.png) [@occ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/occ)\ **Post date:** [October 12, 2003, 12:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-fast-food-restaurants-that-actually-use-soy-protein-in-their-hamburgers-etc/206901/2 "2003-10-12T00:14:26Z")
My father, who used to work for Arby’s back in late 1960s or early 1970s, said that their roast beef was cut with “beans” of some sort, which may have been soy protein. I don’t know how true this was, but the texture of Arby’s roast beef is certainly different than any other roast beef I’ve had, including sandwich meat. ---
**Author:** ![Exapno\_Mapcase](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/exapno_mapcase/32/1051_2.png) [@Exapno\_Mapcase](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Exapno_Mapcase)\ **Post date:** [October 12, 2003, 1:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-fast-food-restaurants-that-actually-use-soy-protein-in-their-hamburgers-etc/206901/3 "2003-10-12T01:02:55Z")
The fate of McDonalds’ McLean Deluxe has kept most similar products off the market: [http://www.ift.org/publications/docshop/ft\_shop/08-99/08\_99\_pdfs/08-99-business.pdf](http://www.ift.org/publications/docshop/ft_shop/08-99/08_99_pdfs/08-99-business.pdf) > [@](#): > > “McLean Deluxe contained a seaweed derivative that replaced animal fat to bond the beef together,” observed Robert McMath, head of the New York–based New Products Showcase and Learning Center. “By the time McDonald’s killed it five years after its debut, McLean Deluxe had come to symbolize all of the healthy fast-food alternatives. It tasted awful and sold poorly.” ---
**Author:** ![Sigene](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/df788c/32.png) [@Sigene](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sigene)\ **Post date:** [October 12, 2003, 1:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-fast-food-restaurants-that-actually-use-soy-protein-in-their-hamburgers-etc/206901/4 "2003-10-12T01:21:45Z")
The pizza restaurant I used to work for had “textured vegetable protein” in its hamburger. State or federal law required that our menus reflected this fact. Hamburger never sold well as a pizza topping. ---
**Author:** ![Dr\_Paprika](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dr_paprika/32/3042_2.png) [@Dr\_Paprika](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr_Paprika)\ **Post date:** [October 12, 2003, 7:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-fast-food-restaurants-that-actually-use-soy-protein-in-their-hamburgers-etc/206901/5 "2003-10-12T19:01:28Z")
Harvey’s has quite a good veggie burger which has no beef. I have heard rumours they do this with their normal burger, but the website describes it as all beef. So prob’ly not. ---
**Author:** ![lavenderviolet](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/cdc98d/32.png) [@lavenderviolet](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lavenderviolet)\ **Post date:** [October 12, 2003, 11:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-fast-food-restaurants-that-actually-use-soy-protein-in-their-hamburgers-etc/206901/6 "2003-10-12T23:42:19Z")
In the press buzz for the BK Veggie (Burger King’s vegetarian burger) I remember reading that they didn’t want to use soy in it because an allergy to soy is pretty common in the population. ---
**Author:** ![gotpasswords](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/c57346/32.png) [@gotpasswords](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gotpasswords)\ **Post date:** [October 14, 2003, 5:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-fast-food-restaurants-that-actually-use-soy-protein-in-their-hamburgers-etc/206901/7 "2003-10-14T05:23:16Z")
I don’t know about their hamburger patties, but one day I was at a Jack In The Box and they had just recently received a delivery. A carton of tacos (might have been just the meatish filling) was clearly labeled as beef and textured vegatable protein.