It’s a bird! It’s a plane! No, it’s Epicurious, a recipe blog, here to save the planet!
Or, at least that’s what the website claims it is trying to do. The recipe blog is the latest corporate entity to be duped by environmentalists and animal rights extremists into believing that beef is killing the planet.
Epicurious announced that they would no longer publish any recipe that includes beef on its ingredient list. The company said the change would help reduce greenhouse gas emissions, adding, “It’s a shift about sustainability; not anti-beef but pro-planet.”
Puh-leez.
Like many woke corporate platitudes, Epicurious made a bold statement to appear “politically correct” without actually having to sacrifice anything. The company still lists more than 2,300 articles about beef including “Our 51 Best Burger Recipes” and “81 Best Grilled Meat Recipes.” Oh, and the meats were cooked in CO2 emissions above a charcoal-powered flame.
For Epicurious, the decision to abandon beef recipes was easy because they’ve already published thousands of articles about the delicious red meat. Readers probably don’t really need a 52nd burger recipe or an 82nd way to grill a steak.
On the surface, this is just a lame public relations stunt, but it warrants attention for two reasons: The beef ban is based on misleading science and it could open Pandora’s box of woke recipe standards.
Beef is not the main driver of greenhouse gas emissions nor is agriculture as a whole. Of all the emissions created in the U.S., 10 percent is created by the agriculture industry, and beef is only about 3 percent. And science is rapidly improving to reduce emissions overall. A 2010 study from Washington State University found that beef production used 30 percent less land and 20 percent less feed all while creating 13 percent more beef since 1977. A report from the University of Florida found that adjusting a home’s thermostat or observing the speed limit could save more carbon emissions than cutting out beef.
Epicurious’ ban on beef recipes is clear virtue-signaling–but it could open a can of worms for the recipe blog.
If the blog is willing to abolish beef, why does it still allow other meats? Why hasn’t Epicurious asked chefs to stop using natural gas or coal to heat food? Why does the site require so many ingredients in their dishes that could lead to food waste and excess methane emissions? What about other controversial ingredients including palm oil? Can’t people just enjoy food without the Inquisition guilt-tripping them? People need to eat and beef is a nutritious part of a balanced diet. The planet will not be saved because Americans stop eating beef. While Epicurious frets about new recipes for hamburgers China is opening new coal power plants left and right. That’s much harder to swallow than a nice, juicy burger.
