Brave New Burger

MORE THAN A DECADE AGO, HAROLD WILKEN, A SOYBEAN FARMER IN IROQUOIS County, transformed his 2,200-acre farm into an organic operation and, rather than growing animal feed, began supplying beans for soy milk and miso soup, and to the Edgewater tofu maker Phoenix Bean.

Was Wilken ahead of his time? Since the fall of 2018, Burger King has introduced the soy-based Impossible Burger, White Castle has added the Impossible Slider, and KFC has begun selling the chickenless Beyond Fried Chicken. That means plant-based meats, once on the menu only at called 2019 “the year veganism goes mainstream.”