Rapper Snoop Dogg just announced a new product partnership with Dunkin' that uses plant-based meat substitutes in place of their breakfast sausages. The new "Beyond D-O-Double G Sandwich" is the latest take on other competitors' "impossible" replacements.
However, though plant-based substitutes are marketed as a "healthier menu item" than a typical Big Mac or Whopper, they have proven not to up the nutritional value of fast-food items. Mislabeling foods in this way is a dangerous marketing technique, and leads to misinformation about nutritional facts and the food we consume.
Snoop Dogg's latest creation isn't just unhealthy because of the impossible meat, but it's also because the English muffin buns have been substituted for glazed donuts. It's just fact that adding plant-based meat isn't going to cancel out the high caloric count of a donut sandwich.
Nutritionists have stated that it's not just the donuts that make this meal incredibly unhealthy. While the original Beyond Sausage sandwich from Dunkin' stands at 480 calories with 920 milligrams of sodium, Snoop's limited-time menu item weighs in at 550 calories with 1,135 milligrams of sodium.
Nutritionist Dana Hunnes of UCLA doesn't consider Beyond Burgers/Impossible Burgers to be "health foods."
“I definitely believe they are better for your heart and health overall than a meat burger or patty, but they are not a ‘health’ food,” she said. “Moreover, it is somewhat negated by the cheese — full fat, high in saturated fat — and glazed doughnut, which is just white flour and sugar without much healthfulness to it.”
She advises against ordering this sandwich if you visit a Dunkin' while it's available.
