Where’s the beef?
Well, if it’s in your fridge, and you’re trying to figure out what to do with it, looks like you won’t get any ideas from popular recipe site Epicurious.
Not anymore:
Today we announced that Epicurious is cutting out beef. It won’t appear in new Epi recipes, articles, newsletters, or on social. This isn’t a vendetta against cows or people who eat them. It’s a shift about sustainability; not anti-beef but pro-planet. https://t.co/yQ8PrtChtE
— epicurious (@epicurious) April 26, 2021
“Pro-planet.”
That’s cute.
Our mission hasn’t changed. As always, we hope to inspire home cooks to be better, smarter, and happier in the kitchen. We understand you’re going to have questions, and we’ve tried to anticipate some of them. We’re also here to continue the conversation. https://t.co/BfzoPtsx06
— epicurious (@epicurious) April 26, 2021
OK, Epicurious. We’ll bite. What’s your goal here?
We believe that what we cook, and how we cook it, is a powerful action that anybody can take to fight climate change. Our mission at Epicurious is to provide cooking inspiration; the dinner ideas we suggest often make their way from our kitchens to yours. Abstaining from beef means we can use our resources to focus our recipes on more climate-friendly foods. Our hope is that the more sustainable we make our coverage, the more sustainable American cooking will become.
So you’re getting rid of all the beef content on your site? Even the old stuff?
No. All our previously published beef content is still available and there are no plans to remove it. You may also see beef pop up in our recipe galleries, most of which are archival pieces of content that get lightly updated every year.
So, you’re not doing a complete beef purge, then. People can still cause climate change by using your recipe to make a Steakburger with Tangy Caramelized Onions and Herb Butter? And what about all the pigs and sheep and turkeys and whatnot that also contribute to climate change? Shouldn’t you guys go totally meatless, just to be safe?
Goats and sheep—which, like cows, are ruminants—emit methane in the same way cattle do, and according to the WRI, lamb is even more destructive to the climate than beef is. However, people in the U.S. don’t currently eat nearly as much lamb and goat as they do beef.
Then it should be a lot easier for you guys to get rid of all your lamb recipes, shouldn’t it?
It’s hard not to conclude that this “no new beef” pledge little more than empty virtue signaling.
Sounds about right.
Beef > Learning to Code pic.twitter.com/yDkobivtev
— Schültzie (@muffnbear) April 26, 2021
Imagine how insufferable the zoom meeting was when they were deciding this…I guarantee you someone announced his or her pronouns. Oh and someone definitely had bright green hair and a neck tattoo. https://t.co/umcOt5ol5Y
— CCP IS ASSHOE (@noahsmom7) April 26, 2021
GP “We’re inspiring home cooks by cutting out an ingredient 90% of the country uses on a semiregular basis .” https://t.co/xha7QCPHxx
— The Gormogons (@Gormogons) April 26, 2021
You missed April Fool’s by a couple of weeks you unserious elitist turd blossoms. https://t.co/tSqGGGdotj
— Doctor of Coding Thinkology (@bradcundiff) April 26, 2021
Apparently they’re hoping that there are still a lot of April fools out there:
Gee, wonder why the sudden shift. Let's ask your advertisers! pic.twitter.com/iqpaeEbYD1
— Aldous Huxley's Ghost™ (@AF632) April 26, 2021
"This announcement brought to you by plant-based company advertising, such as our sponsors over at Lightlife!" https://t.co/FMmOgwMTDm pic.twitter.com/ql87ilcsP8
— Aldous Huxley's Ghost™ (@AF632) April 26, 2021
Hawking products is one thing. Meat substitutes are fine.
But this business of calling it some sort of organic grassroots push to "save the earth before it's too late!" when it's simply a corporate profits campaign trying to shame people into buying their products is disgusting.
— Aldous Huxley's Ghost™ (@AF632) April 26, 2021
We see you, Epicurious.
bUt JOe biDeN dOEsNt WAnT tO bAN mEAt cOnSumPtIoN https://t.co/NeCthSimFC
— Varad Mehta (@varadmehta) April 26, 2021
No idea why people might feel a little antsy that our social betters are trying to take away our burgers and steaks and tacos from us. None at all. https://t.co/Mgd34n7lCt
— Jeff B., who on earth is this guy?? (@EsotericCD) April 26, 2021
Fortunately I already know how to cook, and I am smart enough to know that beef is one of the best things I can eat. You go dance in the corner with Moby while the rest of us enjoy good, nutritious food.
— Cooking With Gas (@chefmo916) April 26, 2021
Bye, Felicia.
— Eric H. (@ericinva) April 26, 2021
Join the conversation as a VIP Member