YOUR TEXAS AGRICULTURE MINUTE

Reducing beef in burgers yields something less than a burger

By Gene Hall

I hear the James Beard Foundation is sponsoring a competition to produce burgers with at least 25 percent less beef. For me, that’s something less than a burger.

I’m not challenging anyone’s right to bunch up a veggie concoction on a bun. Have at it. But make mine beef.

Most folks take a quarter pound or so of beef on their burger. Mine has generous amounts of lettuce and pickles. I like grilled mushrooms and maybe some avocado. But burgers skimpy on beef? Not on my grill.

This contest has some politically correct chatter about the sustainability of beef production. The argument usually comes down to water. You’d think you could move water around the globe to wherever it’s dry. Count me unconvinced that a cow drinking from a windmill pump in Mills County, Texas can affect water supplies in Sub-Saharan Africa.

Much of our beef supply originates in places where only grass will grow. Livestock allows us to harvest that grass for people. You’re not going to scatter some seeds and grow commercial veggies there.

My burger is all beef.

The preceding commentary is brought to you by Texas Farm Bureau, the “Voice of Texas Agriculture.” Called “Your Texas Agriculture Minute,” TFB will issue thought-provoking editorials each week—via print and audio—to spark understanding of agriculture in the Lone Star State and its impact on each and every Texan.

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