I'm not actually vegetarian, but trying to eat less meat, mcdonald's makes that extremely easy. When we go, it's quite a no-brainer to take that option.
Seriously, go eat a McDonald's burger in Italy. The difference between that one and one in the US will shock you.
McDonald's is another one, my cousin once earned a "fry guy" pin where he cut and fried the most potatoes in a day. Yes, _cut_. None of that frozen garbage.
You can say McDonalds food is different from what it was. That's a fact. You can say McDonalds food is terrible. That's your opinion. But if I want a thin salty burger with cheese dissolved onto it on a suspiciously smooth bun... who are you to say McDonalds isn't the correct choice? You wouldn't prefer it? Ok. Don't eat it. But don't try to say it is objectively terrible.
Sometimes I like a steak that dissolves in my mouth in a burst of flavor. Sometimes I want one that can be chewed on and doesn't turn to mush. They're different experiences. Neither is objectively better than the other, no matter how many chefs are trying to sell me $70 steaks.
Come on... I know you might not like them, but I don't see how they "barely resemble the real thing."
Also I'm glad I couldn't go a story about fast food without a comment about how <your fast food> is <highly processed unnatural garbage> and <America sucks> / <go European master-culture>.
The McDonald's burgers I had in Italy tasted just like the McDonald's burgers I remember McDonald's tasting like. I actively will not eat the current McDonald's burgers in the US--they have gotten that unpalatable to my taste.
Fortunately, in the US, I have plenty of options for burgers that are not McDonald's--unlike most of Europe.
So <nyah> to your European master race-baiting.
Apparently, McDonalds salads are not directly all that profitable for them. So why do they offer them as an menu option?!? Because there is often one member in the car that would veto going to McDonald's if they didn't have a salad as an alternative to a meat burger. E.g. if mom vetoes McDonalds, they would lose the 3 potential burger sales to the dad & 2 kids in the car. Scenarios like that makes the salad option (and veggie/meatless burgers) worth it for them.
EDIT ... found one source about this: https://www.businessinsider.com/how-mcdonalds-uses-anti-veto...
I eat meat. I also eat veggie burgers. They're delicious.
Depending on how often these items are asked for, though, and particularly in smaller cities, it's not uncommon for them to be deep frozen and pretty freezer-burnt by the time they reach you (same as Subway).
Ofc they do not taste like meat, and aren't supposed to taste like meat. But, damn, do they taste good on their own.
The Impossible Burger is in weird niche that screams "fad" to me, or at least early-prototype, like self-driving cars -- it's an expensive fake meat, dollar-for-dollar optimized for looking and feeling like low-quality ground beef burger, instead of high-quality something-else-burger. At best it's an expensive but meatless mediocre meat-imitation burger. Why opt for that instead of a less-expensive but good burger?