One big turn-off about "green lifestyle" choices has always been that its advocates can come off as self-righteous. How easy is it to identify with someone who wants you to change the way you get your energy if they don't do anything else the same way that you do? For most people, a business lunch over a cheeseburger is easier to take than a business lunch over a seitan and macadamia nut cheese sandwich.
In my own efforts to eat in a way that's more environmentally friendly, I'm trying to ease into it in a way that's not going to immediately turn me off from it. And that means I still eat meat -- just less of it -- and I don't necessarily eat all that healthily all of the time.
So that brings us to green fast food. Triple Pundit reports on one example:
Last year, Gusto Organics moved into what once was a Burger King franchise in midtown Manhattan, trading the seminal Whopper, onion rings, and shakes for organic takes on traditional Argentine fast food like steak sandwiches, empanadas, and a variety of pastries.
As a NYMag artcle described, the restaurant's business practices differ from BK's in obvious ways: It recycles all of its trash and composts its food, the furniture is handmade, and the cleaning methods are environmentally friendly.
Triple Pundit's headline? "Does green fast food signal a shift in the way we eat?"
I think it does. Green fast food finally means you don't have to think about the environmental consequences of every little decision you make. "Give me a cheeseburger" much faster than "give me a sustainable, grass-fed, chemical free, etc., etc." And the green fast food joints are sprouting up with some frequency. Just yesterday I ate at Better Burger in New York. Chipotle is a growing national chain, and its founder has a green fast food agenda.
And if you want to get really personal, I'll admit that I keep some fake (that is, soy) "chicken" nuggets in my freezer for late-night snacks or for watching sports. They're delicious, because just like with any real chicken nuggets, the main attraction is whatever dipping sauce you choose. (And the good thing about vegan/vegetarian junk food is that it tends to be as cheap as or cheaper than regular fast food.)
Of course, Michael Pollan (and maybe Triple Pundit) would prefer that you stick to the plants and healthy stuff:
Just because that quarterpounder is made from grass-fed beef, or those fries are made from organic potatoes (and the readers of Michael Pollan recognize the notion of large-scale organic farming is a contentious subject), it doesn't necessarily change how we eat.
Despite increased awareness about what we put in our bodies, we still very much live in a super-size-me culture. As organic and green establishments increasingly move from the fringe or niche sectors to compete with more mainstream businesses, how will they affect how we eat? Will organic simply become the new standard? Will they push us to consume less, to consume smarter? After all, organic doesn't necessarily mean healthier or better for you.
I'm sure they're right, but I think it's much easier to sell America on a green lifestyle when it can still have its corndogs and tater tots for March Madness.