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WaPo's Alternate Thanksgiving Menu to 'Mitigate Effects of Global Warming,' Includes Crickets in Pie Crust

Rebecca Downs
Rebecca Downs  |  November 26, 2021 12:30 PM

As part of an effort to "mitigate the effects of global warming," The Washington Post on Thursday tweeted out an alternate menu, and it is truly bizarre. 

The tweet links to an article that includes this bizarre paragraph: 

Thanksgiving, one of the few nonreligious American holidays that most Americans celebrate, is centered around the notion of gathering for the autumnal harvest, said Amy Bentley, professor of food studies at New York University. But food production is the largest cause of global environmental change, according a report authored by a consortium of scientists. Agriculture is responsible for up to 30 percent of global greenhouse-gas emissions and 70 percent of freshwater use.

Why it's necessary to bring up that Thanksgiving is "one of the few nonreligious American holidays that most Americans celebrate" is unclear. And, while Professor Amy Bentley may claim that it's "centered around the notion of gathering for the autumnal harvest," it's actually a holiday to give thanks and be grateful. Nowhere is that mentioned in the article, though. 

What follows is fear-mongering and warnings as to why traditional Thanksgiving favorites are soon to be no more, to the tune of over 2,600 words. 

For instance, wild boar isn't just a possible replacement for swapping out the turkey, but "lab-grown turkey." Nevertheless, the article still acknowledges that this is not likely to stick: 

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Although some are skeptical that it will go mainstream in the near term, several start-ups developing lab-grown meat and seafood are betting the future of farm-to-table will be cell-to-harvest.

...

“There’s probably going to be a niche for things like lab-grown meat,” [Tom Tabler, a poultry science professor at Mississippi State University] said. But he predicted that a majority of consumers will continue to gravitate toward conventionally grown turkey.

And, while there are claims that "a pivot to plant-based is on the table," this is quickly undermined by the article: 

Critics have raised concerns about the nutritional value of alt-meat products, however, which are often highly processed, while some are wary about the relatively unknown greenhouse-gas emissions and environmental costs associated with producing alternative meat products.

Critics have raised concerns about the nutritional value of alt-meat products, which are often highly processed. Others are wary about the relatively unknown greenhouse-gas emissions and environmental costs associated with producing alternative meat products. 

For the sides, the article suggests going with seafood, so making use of truffle mashed potatoes, kelp salad, blue crab and green crab, jellyfish salad, and oyster stuffing. 

Going with the futuristic theme, there's even a suggestion of CRISPR mashed potatoes or genetically modified. 

Not even dessert is safe, with a suggestion to swap out the pumpkin pie for prickly pear pie. The article has really gone full-blown nuts in that there's a suggestion, and it appears to be serious, to "consider crickets in your crust." For an article that doesn't appear to get it right when it comes to the reasons for the season, it uses the history of Thanksgiving to justify crickets: 

Although insects seldom make appearances on mainstream menus, eating bugs is integral to the history of America.

Indigenous peoples regularly incorporated insects into their diets, according to the FAO, but this practice dwindled when Western cultures suppressed insect-eating in the 18th and 19th centuries, dismissing it as primitive.

Now insects are showing up in flours, protein bars, chips and even pet feed. Studies show that crickets, grasshoppers and weevils are rich in protein and minerals including iron, zinc, copper and magnesium and that farming insects has environmental benefits including less land and water use and lower greenhouse-gas emissions.

Predictably, The Washington Post got thoroughly wrecked on Twitter and massively ratioed. 

A lot of the piece also delves into price increases and high costs. Yet nowhere does it mention inflation or how the Biden Administration plays a role in those rising prices. They've spent too much time blaming climate change.