How Sodexo’s 3D printed, plant-based hamburgers are changing the food landscape at DU

Typically, 3D-printed objects might bring to mind computer parts or small plastic trinkets. What about your next hamburger?

Sodexo, partnering with Israeli-based food technology company SavorEat, introduced 3D vegan hamburger printing to the Rebecca Chopp Market’s menu on Sept. 4. DU is the first college in the U.S. to premiere this technology.

“We’re using advanced digital technologies, including 3D printing, to craft and cook on the spot the most delicious plant-based burgers,” Vice President of Marketing for SavorEat Barak Orenstein said. “We have two burger options: our chef, which is more gourmet [with] a little bit more fat content, and our sporty, which is more protein-rich.”

SavorEat’s hamburgers are made with pea protein and vegetable ingredients. The hamburgers are advertised as having the same taste and texture as meat hamburgers but with a lower carbon footprint.

“With every burger, [students are] able to help reduce their carbon footprint, so it’s better for them and better for our planet,” Orenstein said. 

According to Business Insider, a quarter pound of beef emits four pounds of carbon dioxide. People adopting plant-based diets have the potential to cut agricultural emissions by 61%, a Phys.org article explains.

Sophomore Devin Blanks tried one of the plant-based burgers.

“I’ve had other imitation burgers before, and honestly I feel like this one was probably [one of] the better of the ones I’ve had,” Blanks said.

Some students haven’t tried the 3D-printed hamburgers, but are willing to in the future.

“I would try it, just to see how it is, but I don’t know if it’s something I’d go back to,” freshman Laura Daves said.

For others, the idea of 3D-printed food is unappetizing.

“It’s just a bizarre concept to me,” junior Haley Huber said. “A robot making food: I don’t think I’m a fan.”

Partnerships like the one between Sodexo and SavorEat are slated to expand to other U.S. universities in the future, with SavorEats looking to serve their hamburgers to CU Denver students next year.