Fredericton — The latest food trend is sweeping the nation, and while not everyone has yet subscribed to it, that hasn’t stopped most fast food chains from getting in on the action.

Plant-based burgers have been appearing on menus everywhere, including Harvey’s, Burger King and A&W, among others. Advertised as a healthy alternative to traditional meat patties, farmers have been struggling to keep up with the sudden demand.

“It’s been real hectic, lately,” local farmer Scott Dickinson told The Manatee. “I had to pull my kids out of school just to help me run the farm.”

Dickinson invited The Manatee to his 500-acre farm on the outskirts of the city, which he explained once belonged to his father and his grandfather before him.

“I come from a long line of cattle farmers,” he said, “and if my father were around to see me using those cows, well, I’m sure he’d give me a funny look.”

Dickinson nodded toward a separate pasture on the ranch as he spoke, indicating that he was referencing a small enclosure of what he called “plant-based cattle.”

“We used to only use those ones for soy-milk,” he said. “Had hundreds of them. We called them the weird cows ‘cause nobody ever wanted them. Times sure have changed, though.”

To the untrained eye, it may be hard to differentiate plant-based cattle from the regular stock, but if you know what to look for, Dickinson says the differences are quite notable.

“Well those ones, for instance,” he began, referencing the plant-based cows, “are pretty self-righteous, they don’t mix well with the other cows, and if you give them a chance, they’ll moo on all day about how their diet is so much better than yours and how they’re way healthier.”

With Greco recently unveiling its new plant-based pepperoni pizza, however, Dickinson sees relief in the future.

“I’ve got a whole field full of plant-based pigs that until now have been entirely useless. I think we can stop slaying the granola-cows for a while and turn our sights on them.”