Online food publications got big during the pandemic as people turned to home-cooking to prep their ... [+]
gettyAs news outlets increased their coverage of climate change in recent years, many food publications began questioning how to tackle the issue.
Food production is responsible for one-quarter of the world's greenhouse gas emissions. While some media opted to rank the environmental impacts of different produce, or advice on how to use leftovers, food and recipe website Epicurious has now revealed it took the bold decision of abandoning its beef coverage.
Leaving beef behind
The award-winning Epicurious, a Condé Nast digital publication, has so far created more than 30,000 professionally tested recipes, in addition to the 150,000 member-submitted recipes.
In a decision taken in late 2019 and only publicly revealed this month, the editorial team chose to limit beef as much as possible in Epicurious’ recipes and its social media feeds. Emissions from livestock account for about 14% of total greenhouse gas emissions, having a drastic environmental impact on water and soil use: “Abstaining from beef is a straightforward and effective way to lower one’s personal carbon footprint,” wrote Epicurious senior editor Maggie Hoffman and digital director emeritus David Tamarkin.
Searching through the website, it is possible to find over 50 different ways to make a burger, without the traditional beef patty. For Epicurious editors, amending their grocery list and editorial agenda was a way to show that readers and consumers need a helping hand in changing their behavior, and that they are willing to take the advice: “When America’s annual grilling holiday rolled around, we set our fires on cauliflower and mushrooms, not steaks and hot dogs. The traffic and engagement numbers on these stories don’t lie: When given an alternative to beef, American cooks get hungry,” the editors remarked.
Epicurious’ editors noted that cutting beef is not a silver bullet and each and every product has significant environmental costs: “The conversation about sustainable cooking clearly needs to be louder; this policy is our contribution to that conversation,” they added. Epicurious did not have any further comment to make when reached by this publication.
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Developing Ingredients
Aside from climate change shaping consumers’ behavior, Covid-19 has contributed in bringing changes on how we eat, while shaping the future of the food business. Tackling these crises offers new opportunities for food product developers.
According to The Institute of Food Technologists (IFT), to win in the current marketplace, product developers must innovate around the new macro trends of self-care and disease prevention.
Consumption of red meat has been linked with increased risks of heart disease, colorectal cancer and diabetes, adding health considerations to the list of reasons why one may consider removing it from their diet.
IFT places “New Crop of Plant-Based Foods” among this year’s top 10 food trends. In the U.S., sales of alternative meats and poultry are projected to grow from $1.3 billion in 2020 to $2 billion by 2024, according to leading wellness-focused data technology company SPINS. A recent analysis from the American consulting firm ATKarney estimated that, by 2040, only 40% of the meat consumed will come from traditional animal sources; 35% will be lab-grown, and 25% will be vegan meat.
In 2020, the food industry looked at how to limit loss and stay afloat. Now major players, including General Mills, Coca-Cola, Kraft Heinz, Danone, and Kellogg’s, have announced changes to refocus and accelerate their new product innovation programs for 2021.
It’s not just producers who’ll need to adapt to new consumer habits—food publications and cookbooks will need to change, too. Epicurious might be pioneering the future of food writing, meanwhile it provides us some food for thought.
The Link LonkApril 30, 2021 at 08:09PM
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Food Website Epicurious Got Beef With Beef - Forbes
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