vegan burger

Craving for a burger? Here’s a list that’s filling, but not killing

You’ve been eating the same meat-based burgers for the longest time, we bet your taste buds are screaming for something different. Yes, we’re quite sure by now you’re open to trying something that still looks familiar, but is, in fact, entirely new, totally healthy and sustainable, utterly tasty, and most of all, cruelty-free. Because there’s no other feeling like you’re enjoying something and knowing that no one else—human or otherwise—have suffered for it.

The People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) has just named the 12 best veggie burgers in the Philippines. Made from good-for-you ingredients such as jackfruit, mushrooms, tofu, beans, and unMeat, veggie burgers are tasty and animal-friendly—unlike meat-based ones. Cows killed for meat are raised on filthy feedlots, transported in all weather extremes to slaughterhouses, and strung up by one leg before their throats are slit, sometimes while they’re still conscious. It’s no wonder more and more people are opting for burgers without murder!

In no particular order, here are the winners:

Green Bar’s Wild Thing Bacun Cheeseburger (Makati City), featuring a house-made seitan and jackfruit patty topped with “bacun” strips, onion rings, vegan mozzarella cheese, lettuce, and chipotle mayo on a toasted bun.

Shakey’s The Goood Burger (nationwide), featuring an unMeat patty topped with all the trimmings as well as vegan dressing, sandwiched together with lettuce

Greens Spot’s Heartburger (Quezon City), made up of five types of grilled veggies, topped with vegan mayonnaise and all the trimmings, and served with a side of potato wedges

But Better’s Loaded Protein Burger (Taguig City), a protein-packed burger served with melted vegan cheese, mushrooms, homemade relish, and all the trimmings

Shaka’s Sloppy José (Panglao Island, Bohol), featuring a bean patty topped with caramelized fresh pineapple, corn, green chili, jalapeño salsa, guacamole, and a vegan cheese sauce

iVegan’s Black Bean Burger (Makati City), including a special cheesy vegan sauce and all the trimmings, served with a side salad and a roasted sweet potato

Three Guys and a Grill’s The Woke Burger (Cebu City and Makati City), a black bean patty topped with vegan mayo and all the trimmings

Cosmic’s Mushroom Burger (Makati City), featuring a homemade mushroom patty with all the trimmings sandwiched between sourdough bread, served with a side of fries

Lun-haw Vegan Café’s Vegan Burger (Cebu City), made with mung beans and potato, paired with a vegan sauce and all the trimmings, and served with a side of air-fried fries

Corner Tree Cafe’s Baked Tofu Walnut Burger (Makati City), with vegan mayo and all the trimmings piled on a healthy baked patty, served with sweet potato fries or some greens

Chilla Gorilla Burgers’s King Kong Burger (Davao City), with not one but two patties on a buttered bun topped with mayo and a cheese sauce—all vegan, of course—as well as all the trimmings

Bec and Geri’s Vegan Steak Burger (Las Piñas), a house-made “ground steak” patty with barbecue garlic sauce, pineapple, and all the trimmings

“It’s so easy to help prevent cows—who feel joy, love, pain, and fear, just as humans, cats, dogs, and other animals do—from enduring a horrific death by leaving them off our plates,” says PETA Senior Vice President Jason Baker. “With so many delicious and award-winning veggie burgers to choose from in restaurants across the Philippines, it’s clear that vegan eating is skyrocketing in popularity.”

Vegan burgers from companies like Beyond Meat are sweeping the world, including the Philippines, and Burger King Philippines even offers a veggie burger on its menu.

Every person who goes vegan saves the lives of nearly 200 animals each year. Going meat-free protects human health, too. Like swine flu, bird flu, and SARS, Covid-19 has been linked to eating animals—and so have heart disease, diabetes, strokes, and cancer.

PETA—whose motto reads, in part, that “animals are not ours to eat”—opposes speciesism, which is the human-supremacist view that other species are nothing more than commodities.

For more information, visit PETAAsia.com or follow the group on Twitter, Facebook, or Instagram.