Written by Becca Stine
I wonder how many hours it took to perfect the burger patty recipe at Skirted Heiffer, or how many different people were involved in designing an In-N-Out hamburger. Of course, we can’t know for sure, but how labor intensive could it be? Because a burger patty can only vary so much, it just becomes a matter of minor adaptation. Then again, imagine the taste of a burger that took scientists, engineers, chefs, farmers, and foodies five years to design and manufacture because it uses 95 percent less land, 74 percent less water, creates 87 percent less greenhouse gas emissions, and is 100 percent free of hormones, antibiotics, and artificial ingredients. This may sound too good to be true, but, as of the year 2009, this burger patty is a reality, and it’s selling.
Today, the meat industry is one of the leading causes of global warming and greenhouse emissions. According to the Beef Board and National Cattlemans Beef Association, one quarter-pound burger uses 110 gallons of water (two weeks’ worth of showers). This water is used to quench the cow, irrigate pastureland, grow crops needed to feed cows, and process beef. The average American uses around 100 gallons of water a day, thus, eating a single burger for dinner is doubling water consumption in a matter of five minutes. While we sit and absentmindedly bite into a juicy beef patty, people living in California are forced to reconsider how many showers they can take per day, and how long they can afford to stand under the hot water. While McDonalds thrives, selling more than 75 hamburgers per second, the 1 percent of available drinking water we have left is drastically decreasing. According to livestock researchers, animal agriculture uses 30 percent of land, and over 25 percent of freshwater on Earth, creating as much greenhouse gas emissions as cars, trucks, trains, ships, and airplanes combined. In an article published on Climate Change Central website, Bobby Magill states, “Animal-based foods in the American diet accounted for about 85 percent of food-related greenhouse gas emissions in 2009 and about 90 percent of all agricultural land use.”
Whether or not we find ourselves directly affected by our own reality of consumption, we’re faced with a real problem. In 2009, Biochemist Patrick O. Brown recognized the severity of this issue and devoted his sabbatical to work on eradicating industrial animal agriculture. Their website, Impossible Foods, reads, “We identified methods and ingredients to naturally recreate everything—the sights, sounds, aromas, textures and flavors. The result? This impossibly delicious game changer of a burger.” They discovered that a compound named heme, found in both plants and meats, is responsible for giving meat its smell, sizzle, bleed, and meaty tast. Thus, we don’t need to consume meat to taste its flavor. This sounds ideal, but what do consumers think? Sophomore Micah Robin, talks about the process of cooking meat and how simply switching to the “Impossible Burger” would take away from the experience of preparing meat. “That’s why I love cooking and eating meat,” Micah said. “You can play with so much flavor…I would try it though.”
What it comes down to, and what people really care about, is food. Eating is the one thing we do three times a day every day: one of our truest human routines. Vegetarianism is not necessarily the answer, but basic awareness is. The issue of global warming needs to be addressed through the people, and through what means most to us—our food. What many do not realize is that there are too many people living on this planet and we don’t have the land space to grow food organically anymore. GMO’s and mass beef production exist because they are the only way to successfully feed our ever-growing population. Karlheinz Erb, professor at the Institute of Social Ecology at Alpen-Adria University in Vienna, said, “There is an implicit assumption among many forces that we have to encroach into the tropical forests, and we have to use more land to feed the people.” Meat is a luxury, but it is also a routine—a habit even. The “Impossible Burger” makes it possible to allow ourselves the enjoyment of “meat,” without harming our planet and depleting our water sources.