On Wednesday, Arby's released the "megetable," a carrot made of turkey meat that looks and tastes just like the orange vegetable. The meat carrot, or "Marrot," comes on the back of many of Arby's competitors choosing to invest in plant-based meats. Following its release, the product is being met with criticism.

One group in particular that has not taken kindly to Arby's latest product is the People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA), which advocates in favor of vegan diets on its website.

INSIDER received a statement from PETA Executive Vice President Tracy Reiman about Arby's marrot in which she said Arby's is stuck in 'the Stone Age'

Reiman referred to the megetable as a "little gimmick" and called Arby's "totally out of step with the times" before referencing fast-food brands that have invested in plant-based meats, including Burger King, Carl's Jr., and Del Taco.

"Any competitor that fails to cash in on the skyrocketing demand for vegan foods is going to go hungry," Reiman said. "The joke here is on Arby's for its sad stab at mocking those who are eating as if it's 2019, not the Stone Age, and failing to recognize that it's an increasingly vegan world."

Arby's representatives declined to respond to INSIDER's request for comment regarding PETA's statement.

Advertising for PETA's pro-vegan efforts. PETA

Read more: Arby's has flipped the vegan 'meat' trend on its head with the 'megetable,' a carrot made out of turkey that looks and tastes almost exactly like the vegetable

Arby's latest move comes just after several of its competitors have announced partnerships with plant-based meat companies such as Impossible Foods and Beyond Meat

In response to a VegNews article published in May that initially reported that the sandwich chain was interested in partnering with Impossible Foods, Arby's promised to never, under any circumstances, offer substitutes for real meat.

"Arby's is not one of the restaurant companies interested in working with Impossible Foods," an Arby's statement said at the time. "The chances we will bring plant-based menu items to our restaurants, now or in the future, are absolutely impossible."

Read more: The Impossible Burger is now the most popular late-night delivery snack in America

Journalists taste testing the Impossible Foods plant-based hamburgers. Thomson Reuters

Arby's Chief Marketing Officer Jim Taylor recently told INSIDER that offering plant-based proteins to their menus "was something that [Arby's leadership] knew wasn't a fit for our brand."

"We had to figure out what following our true North looks like versus following the magnetic North where everybody seems to be headed," Taylor said. "And our true North is making really interesting, tasty food out of meat, so why wouldn't we flip this equation on its head and say 'hey, if they can make meat out of plants, why can't we make plants out of meat?'"

And so they did. Conceptualized by Neville Craw, Arby's brand executive chef, and sous-chef, Thomas Kippelen, the Marrot contains more than 30 grams of protein and more than 70% of the recommended daily amount of vitamin A.

When we were invited to a tasting of the Marrot, Craw even hinted to INSIDER that the brand could offer megetables in Arby's shops nationwide. The sandwich chain is still experimenting with the form in which they would sell the marrot, and Craw suggested that it could be fried and served on a stick.

After Arby's released the megetable, Taylor told INSIDER that many people have commended the sandwich chain for "staying true to [its] brand."

"This brand's DNA has been built around not being a follower and zigging when other people zag," Taylor said. "We realized that the secret of our success is producing these premium sandwiches where high-quality meat is always at the center. We're continuing to innovate around that."

Read more: People are outraged after someone said they swapped the labels on meat and vegetarian products at a supermarket for a joke

This isn't the first time Arby's has poked fun at alternative, meat-free options

Back on Leap Day of 2016, the sandwich chain rolled out "the company's first ever vegetarian menu" featuring "Arby's signature sandwich lineup, minus the delicious meats that make them sandwiches," according to a press release from the company in February 2016.

"We've decided to give vegetarians a reason to visit Arby's on Leap Day by offering a one-day menu designed specifically for them," Arby's President Rob Lynch said in the release at the time. "If it goes well, we'll likely bring back the vegetarian menu on Feb. 29 each year."

You can read PETA's full statement regarding Arby's new item below:

"Arby's little gimmick shows that it's totally out of step with the times. Chains from Burger King to Carl's Jr. and Del Taco are rolling out vegan options, pizza chains are adding soy crumbles and phony pepperoni to their menus, and even companies like Perdue and Cargill are investing in vegan meats, so any competitor that fails to cash in on the skyrocketing demand for vegan foods is going to go hungry. The joke here is on Arby's for its sad stab at mocking those who are eating as if it's 2019, not the Stone Age, and failing to recognize that it's an increasingly vegan world."