If it's not BEEF, it's not a "Burger"!

Today is #NationalCheeseburgerDay! I have no idea who designated it as such but I saw it on Twitter so it must be true :) And I've seen lots of blog posts on the topic (my favorite of which is 18 Ways to Celebrate National Cheeseburger Day). I love the concept of National Cheeseburger Day but some of the posts also brought out one of my pet peeves -- claims that "other" burgers are "healthier" than beef burgers.



Even though I had a cheeseburger for lunch AND dinner yesterday, I had to have another after learning that today is National Cheeseburger Day!

One particular post from Runner's World caught my eye because of the title, "Grill up a better burger tonight." My first thought was, "What could possibly be better than a good ol' American Cheeseburger?" So I clicked on the link.

The Runner's World article suggests that bison would be a leaner choice. That is simply not true. I covered this topic in detail in a post three years ago, "Is Bison Leaner then Beef? Whatever, Turkey!" which explores claims that so-called bison and turkey "burgers" are leaner than beef burgers.

The Runner's World article does correctly point out that veggie patties are high in fiber but typically have half the protein with more calories than a beef burger. Unfortunately, I often see articles suggesting veggie burgers would be a healthier choice. I wrote about the healthfulness of veggie patties versus beef burgers in  "Exposing the Big Fat (Beef) Lie."

But that brings me to another pet peeve and the actual point of this post. If it's not BEEF, it's not a BURGER! History and entomology support this fact. There are many claims about the origin of the hamburger, but all of them include BEEF. Most experts agree that Otto Krause, a Hamburger (person from Hamburg, Germany), was the first person to serve ground up pieces of beef served between two slices of bread. Clearly, the modern name "hamburger" validates this theory!

So, in honor of Otto Krause, the inventor of the Hamburger, I hereby offer this BEEFMAN PROCLAMATION on National Cheeseburger Day:

WHEREAS the original hamburger was a ground beef patty served between two slices of bread, not a ham patty, turkey patty, bison patty, veggie patty, or any other patty, and

WHEREAS the entomology of the word "burger" is a shortened form of the word hamburger (which refers to a ground beef patty served between two slices of bread),

BE IT RESOLVED that if it's not BEEF, it's not a burger!

Ride on,

Daren