PrintBummed About Burgers
Dear Readers,
The world is raining on my burger parade today. On Sunday night I watched Year of the Dog, in which Molly Shannon's character becomes a vegan. She is completely consumed with rescuing animals from food production, to the point where everything else in her life crumbles. The movie struck a chord in my brain, and I woke up feeling less than grade A. I'm not sure why this movie stuck with me so, but it did. Now the only thing which will make me happier is an adorable beagle puppy I can name Pencil.
Then, yesterday morning, Serious Eats greeted me with Ed's post asking, "If we eat less meat, can we save the planet and ourselves?" The facts about factory faming conditions, and CO2 emissions are not new to me, but they are weighing heavily. How can I be a passionate burger blogger and still consider myself a good global citizen? Being a vegetarian is something kids brag about on MySpace. Is it still cool to be seen eating meat?
I like to think I have a pretty balanced diet and don't go overboard in anything. I'm a thoughtful eater, and try not to create undue waste. Preachy attitudes toward consumption bore me, and I thoroughly disagree with encroaching on anyone else's beliefs. I respect vegetarians, vegans, kosher-keepers, those who only eat halal foods, and those with ingredient-intolerance. Can't we all get along? Can we?
I'm worried that the same anger I feel every time I see a Hummer is going to be pointed back in my direction—and am even more concerned that it's deserved. A restaurant around the corner has signs up for "no guilt" ham and roast beef sandwiches. Is there really any such thing? I don't think there should be.
If "the test of a first-rate intelligence is the ability to hold two opposed ideas in the mind at the same time and still retain the ability to function" (F. Scott Fitzgerald), I suppose I'm in OK shape. Then again, if my ability to function is judged by the rate at which I am writing about burgers, maybe not.
I could use some cheering up.
Feeling overcooked,
Lauren
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15 Comments:
I'm so glad that Bittman wrote that piece. We do have to change the way we eat - but that doesn't mean we have to give up burgers. We just have to know a bit more about where our burgers are coming from. All we got to loose is looking a little smug...
localfork.com
brooklynlocal at 12:01PM on 01/29/08
I know how you feel, Lauren. Sometimes I wonder what I'm doing promoting the burger lifestyle. But then I see a burger like the one pictured here and can't help myself.
What I've done, and maybe this could help you, is limit my burger intake to one a week. This is not only good for the planet, but also good for my own health. I've always tried to maintain a one-burger-a-week limit but have never stuck to it. The last few months, though, I've been golden.
Adam Kuban at 1:24PM on 01/29/08
For the record: As burgermeister general here on AHT, I added the burger photo into Lauren's post. As she said: "That's kind of a mean trick, you putting in an image and then referring to it in a comment ;)"
Adam Kuban at 1:29PM on 01/29/08
Yeah. I was gonna make a sad burger graphic, but then I felt bad about it.
That burger looks amazing though. Thanks.
Lauren Krueger at 1:30PM on 01/29/08
Yeah. It was sort of an in-post "unicorn chaser."
Adam Kuban at 1:49PM on 01/29/08
Lauren -
A thought or two. First, we are carnivores as well as herbivores. Where we have lost touch with this is that many of us don't raise our own food. When I have raised an animal for food, I have much more directly appreciated the gift that that animal gave so that I might live. It's not the same when the closest connection you have with your food is the cello wrap it came in, whether it is animal or vegetable.
Secondly, we should not be making our choices about eating based upon whether it is "cool to be seen" eating a certain thing. What's cool about eating lettuce or clams? Eat because you enjoy the experience!
I'll go back to sleep now.
Geezer at 2:00PM on 01/29/08
What saddens me about the prevalent dialogues I've been seeing in regard to anti-meat-eating and pro-meat-eating is that they're so black-and-white, and any post discussion of the latest article or information always end up centering around an "always" or "never" conversation.
That Bittman article implored us to eat less meat, not to stop eating meat. Americans eat way too much meat. Plain and simple. You can still eat meat and enjoy the hell out of it, in fact, you enjoy more when you have it less!
And, IMO, not all meat is a terror on the environment. Eat less, grassfed, humanely raised meat, and you'll be easing your cost to the environment and also, though the meat is more expensive, you'll be paying the same because you're eating less of it!
Everything's always reduced to it's lowest common denominator. No wonder people are so afraid of environmentalism when it's always wrongly interpreted as Do or Die.
Tactful_Cactus at 3:08PM on 01/29/08
I agree with Tactful_Cactus; moderation is really the issue, here.
Burgers are fantastic, and I there's no reason to stop eating them. There seem to be some very solid arguments against most forms of large-scale farming, shabby treatment of animals and the environment, and a meat-at every-meal attitude, but none of those things are implicit in the act of preparing or eating a burger.
So, you can't stop eating burgers, or consider feeling guilty over what very-briefly vegetarian teenager may think of you! Fight the good fight by making the best burgers from the most responsible ingredients, and eating them in reasonable amounts.
If we simply divide into two camps, one forgoing meat and its pleasures, the other hostilely clinging to them, it will be very difficult to address the situation intelligently or effectively.
mongoose at 5:17PM on 01/29/08
Having grown up on a farm...how come nobody of the vegan/vegetarian community ever mentions the scores of animals i.e. bird young and eggs, mice, voles, insects, killed by plows, discs, cultivators etc. while growing the grain to make that 12 grain organic loaf of bread? Doesn't matter if you are a vegan, vegetarian, carnivore, herbivore or only eat fish....something is dying to feed you.
Cheers, TB.
texas blues at 11:20PM on 01/29/08
Great post. Here's how I dealt with it, I married a vegetarian. The way I figure it she offsets anything I do in regards to meat so I live guilt free enjoying my bacon cheesburgers (probably a little more often than my doctor would like though!).
KingBoo at 3:45PM on 01/31/08
Well I love a good burger as well and wouldn't think about not eating one. But here's a suggestion to "balance" out your desire for a burger and the ecological cost behind making one. For every burger you eat, try and recycle more, stop drinking bottled water (think of the landfil pollution), try and walk or ride your bike to save on the pollution from your car or mass transit bus or train. Start using a "green" grocery bag, instead of plastic or paper (now imagine if we all did this simple thing). Shop at a farmers market for your produce, instead of having them shipped across the country or half way around the world. And buy organic, where there is no run off into our rivers and streams from the pesticides and herbicides. I think if you (we) all do a few of these things we can all enjoy our guilt free burger.
bgardner at 2:38PM on 02/02/08
Born and raised in Indianapolis, my loyalty is still to Steak and Shake. However, as strange as it may sound there is a Wendy's here in Colorado Springs that does something different in their cooking that makes me set my errands where I end up there for lunch.
ladyz at 7:59PM on 02/02/08
There, in my opinion are only two places to get a good
Burger. Whataburger in Texas and Blake's Lotaburger in New Mexico. These are the Best. There is one burger place in Ft.Worth Texas that is not a chain but should be world famous, it is Kincaid's Grocery. Do not even tell me about a Cheeseburger until you have reviewed one there.
usa67us at 8:45PM on 02/02/08
I'm with Texas Blues. I grew up on a farm, too. We raised 75% of the food we ate whether animal or vegetable. My uncle raised wheat and cotton. The wheat sometimes harbored meadow larks and their ground nests. When he harvested the wheat, meadow larks and their nests were often destroyed. It was not intentional, and we all tried not to harm wild animals, but it happened.
leomoore at 8:45PM on 02/02/08
If you want to maintain that ability to function with a first rate intelligence, then I suggest you keep your meaty eats around. The seeming lack of intelligence often observed in our meat-rejecting friends is not all from the "herbal supplements" that often make up part of their diet. Unfortunately for those who feel a meat-free life is more enlightened existence, their diet lacks vital amino acids and complex proteins vital to the proper production of brain cells and neurotransmitters. I try to follow the lead of my omnivorous friend Ecopimp, who lives closer to the earth than any of us city people would be comfortable with, who knows the patterns of life and death and humanity's place within that chain (yes we are animals, and thus part of the food chain too, entitled to our needs but not to gluttony or waste). We should work to improve the footprint of all we eat, connect with the growers and farmers who make up our local food chain, and to mitigate the damage of our demands with efforts for the greater good. And why not have the full brain functions of a properly nourished body to help propel these efforts at improving the world. That seems like the only humane and responsible approach for all its citizens.
http://en.allexperts.com/q/Nutrition-Dieting-939/Vit-B-complex-proteins.htm
granolaheadesq at 12:12PM on 02/03/08