Real Food for Real People (Vegetarians are so abstract)
Teen girls' "wacky eating behaviors" inspire a lame beef propaganda website:
According to a new study from market researchers at Teenage Research Unlimited, one in four teens now considers vegetarianism "cool." The study indicates a rise in vegetarianism in the teen population, particularly among girls.
[...] Enter the folks at the National Cattlemen's Beef Association, who have responded to the looming vegetarian crisis by launching a website, Cool 2B Real, in an attempt to link meat consumption with some degree of hipness. The site, which looks like a cross between a Barbie fan page and a Taco Bell ad.
[...] "We hope the 'Cool 2B Real' campaign helps girls make healthy decisions about food and exercise," [chyeah, right] says Mary Young, a registered dietician and Executive Director of Nutrition for the National Cattlemen's Beef Association. The NCBA, says Young, is concerned about the nutritional shortfalls of vegetarianism, which Young refers to as one of the "wacky eating behaviors" teenage girls tend to favor.
Cool 2B Real must be seen to be believed. "Poll — What type of beef do you most like to eat with your friends?" "Fun Snackin' — Check out these great ideas for after-school snacks, sleepover parties, or just plain fun with friends: Nacho Beef Dip,
Beef on Bamboo,
Beef Taco and Cheese Pockets,
Easy Beef Chili,
Cheeseburger Mac.." And on-line games like Burger Boggle and Chillin' & Grillin'! Are we having fun yet?
Throughout, of course, it's doing its best to marry teens' notions of idependence, authenticity, and fun to being a beef-eater. Because, of course, if you're not doing the same thing as the mainstream, then you're a brainwashed dupe.
(Via Vegan Porn)
That site is indeed stupid. But I've known many, many teenage girls who proclaimed themselves "vegetarians" and then proceeded to try to subsist on carrot sticks, sodas, corn chips, and lettuce salads with no veggies and lots of dressing. Or who use it to insist that every family gathering had to feature mashed potatoes, because that was their favorite thing to eat. I'm not convinced that the average 14-year-old vegetarian *isn't* a wacky eater. I just don't think that Nacho Beef Dip is the answer.
Posted by Mris on February 5 2003 09:23
Certainly it's possible to eat a bad diet or even have an eating disorder and call oneself a vegetarian, and many teenage girls do this, and that's indeed a problem. But the problem is with the bad diet or the eating disorder, not with the vegetarianism itself. The beef industry, of course, would like simply to equate vegetarianism and problem eating in popular opinion.
If the site were really concerned with encouraging healthy eating, and merely noted correctly that protein is essential and meat is high in protein, I could support it. But it has nothing to do with health and everything to do with BEEF GOOD. NOT BEEF BAD.
Posted by Zed on February 5 2003 10:26
umm, i don't get this. what is it all about?
Posted by laura on April 22 2005 12:53