Epicurious To Stop Posting Beef Recipes

Food website Epicurious has announced that it will stop posting new recipes containing beef to avoid “giving airtime to one of the world’s worst climate offenders.” As the Washington Post noted, “Reaction was swift and illustrated the meaning of the metaphor about tossing red meat to a crowd. Some praised the decision, noting that tastes have changed and that readers are looking for more plant-based, less meaty dishes. Others slammed Epicurious for ‘canceling’ beef.” The North American Meat Institute commented, suggesting that the reduction in beef recipes will correspond with a reduction in web traffic, according to the New York Times. Others reportedly questioned the effectiveness of the move in achieving its stated goal, with the founder of Food Tank telling the Post that the move is “short-sighted” because options exist for sustainable beef production.

“While beef consumption in the U.S. is significantly down from where it was 30 years ago, it has been slowly creeping up in the past few years,” the Epicurious announcement asserted. “The conversation about sustainable cooking clearly needs to be louder; this policy is our contribution to that conversation.”