The average American eats nearly 60 pounds of beef （27 kg） a year—roughly equal to a couple of hundred burgers. But for how much longer will the beef burger remain king？

A new generation of burgers made with “plant meat” is vying to topple the beef burger from its throne， transforming the beef industry and the way we eat in the process. One industry analyst foresees a not-too-distant future where we get the bulk， if not all， of our protein from plants， not animals.

“Our mission is very simple，” says Dr Pat Brown， a physician and biochemist who founded Impossible Foods in 2011. “Its to completely replace animals as a food technology by 2035.” Browns Impossible Foods， along with rival Beyond Meat， are two companies at the forefront of the plant meat revolution.

Their signature products， the Impossible Burger and the Beyond Burger， made with soy and pea protein respectively， are marketed as being more environmentally friendly and sustainable. Their mimicry of the beef burger includes making their patties “bleed” like beef burgers. Beyond Burger uses beet juice to achieve that effect and Impossible uses the additive heme. Impossible Foods says its products are available at more than 10，000 outlets， such as Burger King in the United States， and multiple locations in Asia.

美国人平均每年要吃近60磅牛肉（27千克），相当于几百个汉堡。但是牛肉汉堡的王者地位还能维持多久呢？

由“植物素肉”制成的新一代汉堡正在抢占牛肉汉堡的宝座，改变牛肉行业以及我们的饮食方式。一位行业分析师预测，在不久的将来，我们的大部分蛋白质（如果不是全部的话）将来自植物，而不是动物。

“我们的目标很简单。”在2011年创立Impossible Foods公司的生物化学家兼内科医生帕特·布朗博士说，“到2035年，植物蛋白食品将完全取代动物蛋白食品。”布朗博士的Impossible Foods公司和其竞争对手Beyond Meat公司是处于植物素肉革命前沿的两家公司。

他们的招牌产品“Impossible Burger”和“Beyond Burger”里面的肉类分别由大豆和豌豆蛋白制成，在市场上被宣传为更加环保和可持续的汉堡。它们可以模仿牛肉汉堡的血色。“Beyond Burger”使用甜菜汁来达到这一效果，“Impossible Burger”则添加了血红素。Impossible Foods公司表示，其产品在汉堡王的美国和亚洲等地区的一万多家门店有售。

Word Study

topple /'t?pl/ v. 推翻

throne /θr??n/ n. 宝座

rival /'ra?vl/ n. 競争对手

mimicry /'m?m?kri/ n. 模仿

One of his few strengths was his skill at mimicry.