Where’s the beef?

April 26, 2021 by
 |  11 Comments  |  Leave Comment

If you are of a certain age in the US, you probably remember the Wendy’s fast-food commercials from the mid-1980s, where a cantankerous elderly lady peering into the competitor’s burger asks the infamous question: “Where’s the beef?” She might ask that question again today, but she would aim it at the recipe website Epicurious, which recently announced that it will no longer be develop recipes that contain beef.

The website explained that concerns around sustainability pushed them to make this change. They noted that according to studies, nearly “15 percent of greenhouse gas emissions globally come from livestock (and everything involved in raising it); 61 percent of those emissions can be traced back to beef.” In an effort to address these concerns, the editorial staff decided that they would no longer develop recipes that contain beef, stating that they are “not anti-beef but rather pro-planet.” Beef recipes that are already on the site will remain in place.

Epicurious said they actually made this change a year ago, substituting a vegetarian recipe where they would have had one containing beef, and readers responded favorably – engagement and clicks increased with beef alternatives. The article explains why they decided to make this announcement now, which unfortunately coincided with a false story that President Biden’s climate change plan would limit the amount of beef that Americans could eat. Conspiracy theorists will probably have a field day with the timing of the announcement. What do you think of the Epicurious decision?

Photo of Grilled adobo-marinated skirt steak (Carne adobada) from Epicurious by Roberto Santibañez

Category: Antipasto

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11 Comments

  • lean1  on  April 27, 2021

    Good for them! Good for our health!

  • KatieK1  on  April 27, 2021

    Logically, does that mean dairy is next to get their axe?

  • Indio32  on  April 27, 2021

    The issue here isn’t about beef or come to think of it meat in general its about production methods i.e industrial factory farming.

  • inflytur  on  April 27, 2021

    Certainly they should act according to their ethics, yet I find it interesting that Epicurious finds the cattle industry the one they want to tackle. I would have thought American’s dependence on industrial chicken would have been top of the list since it is the primary source of food borne illness and a large source of pollution for the nearby communities.

  • Rinshin  on  April 27, 2021

    Deleted their app on my ipad.

  • riley  on  April 27, 2021

    Human beings are the worst thing to happen to planet earth. Maybe we should all perform Seppuku. Their site ceases to exist for me.

  • GoDogGo  on  April 29, 2021

    I find this to be one sided and left leaning regardless of when they made the decision and I will no longer follow or buy anything from Epicurious. I raise my own beef, pork and poultry and do not do “factory farming” and I reserve my right to raise, cook and eat my meats and find and explore beef recipes elsewhere. There are far worse things involved in global warming than raising and eating beef including other countries who don’t care one wit about global warming and create green house gasses that far outweigh anything cattle can do in our country or even theirs. I also support local farmers and ranchers and have no desire to kill agriculture or family incomes. If you don’t want to eat meat, more power to you but why do you have to infringe on others and/or their livelihoods? They don’t infringe on yours!

  • Pamyoungvb  on  April 29, 2021

    Why just beef? What about pork, or chicken?
    I applaud their decision – to act on what they believe is right.
    Wonder if they will applaud mine to close my account and get recipes and food articles from other sources.

  • whitewoods  on  April 29, 2021

    I’m not a farmer myself, but I agree with GoDogGo and also riley’s first statement about human beings being the worst thing to happen to planet earth. I feel that all of this would be a non-issue if only humans would curb their population. I don’t even understand why the world’s human population is still growing, as I’m childless myself.

  • popthebubbly  on  April 30, 2021

    The plant has gotten warmer by 9/10th of A degree Celsius in the pass 100 years. Listen or google Michael J. Patrick interview with Levin if you want to know the FACTS from someone on the front lines with regards to climate change. Unfortunately, the left are trying to brainwashed and/or implement scare tactics, ie Bill Gates/John Kerry, two of the most dangerous men IMHO.

    Cows Farts? Really? Have you been to Beijing and Shanghai lately?………
    Bon Voyage Condé Nast!

  • Tonifish  on  May 7, 2021

    Sensational!
    We need more variety and more creative and tasty options to beef.
    Feed lots animal raising is atrocious – cruel and not good for our health or the planet.
    Well done Epicurious for taking this stance!

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