Fast-food chain Taco Bell is currently developing a new vegan Mexican-style rice. Starting April 6, a vegan rice option will be temporarily unavailable, as the company will replace its vegan Latin rice with a vegetarian Mexican-style rice that contains butter. Taco Bell’s senior nutritionist strategist Missy Nelson, RDN tells VegNews that the addition of butter was intended to “bring more flavor to the rice,” and a new vegan Mexican-style version is being developed for similar reasons. In 2015, the company became the first fast-food chain to launch a menu certified by the American Vegetarian Association. To embrace its vegan customer base, Taco Bell recently launched a “How to Eat Vegan at Taco Bell”—a list of nine veganized menu items that does not include rice. “We believe all of our fans should have menu choices that reflect their lifestyles,” Nelson says, “without compromising on flavor or being relegated to sides and fries.” Nelson assures that the vegan Mexican-style rice will be available at all Taco Bell locations by the end of this summer.



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