Lent in the age of the Impossible Burger: Do rules against eating meat on Fridays apply to fake meat?

CHICAGO — Meat is forbidden on Fridays during Lent, driving many Catholics and other observant Christians to partake in fish frys, seafood specials and McDonald’s Filet-O-Fish during the season.The explosion of plant-based proteins now offers more options, and a potential conundrum for the faithful: is it OK to indulge in juicy, beef-like burgers that ooze like the real thing but without the verboten animal flesh?Technically, yes. Faux meat products from the likes of Impossible Foods, made with soy, and Beyond Meat, whose ingredients include pea, rice and mung bean protein, do not run afoul of...