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Wellness

One of the world's most popular recipe sites quietly stopped sharing beef recipes a year ago

One of the world's most popular recipe sites quietly stopped sharing beef recipes a year ago
Photo by Eiliv-Sonas Aceron on Unsplash

Beef has been in the headlines lately, thanks to some incredibly bad reporting on Fox News making it sound like the Biden climate action plan would limit people's beef consumption to one burger a month. It's not planning to limit anyone's beef consumption. It never was.

However, a different entity is cutting out beef, which is surprising considering this entity is all about food. Epicurious, one of the world's most popular recipe sites, has announced that its new recipes, articles, newsletters, and social media posts will no longer include beef.

In a letter to readers, the site's senior editor and former digital director made it clear that the company doesn't have a personal vendetta against beef or people who eat it. They simply shared the statistics that almost 15% of greenhouse gases come from livestock and 61% of that comes from beef. (To be clear, it's not just the cows themselves, but the soybean and corn crops used to feed them that are also part of the problem.) For a company whose entire focus is food, this is a way they can make a difference in the fight against climate change.

"Our shift is solely about sustainability," they wrote, "about not giving airtime to one of the world's worst climate offenders. We think of this decision as not anti-beef but rather pro-planet."

What's perhaps most interesting is that Epicurious actually started implementing this policy more than a year ago, in the fall of 2019—they just didn't announce it. They started sharing vegetarian recipes where they would normally share beef ones, even for holidays that traditionally see steak and burger cookouts. And they say readers have rallied around the recipes they've shared in place of recipes using beef, with traffic and engagement numbers showing that people are hungry for beef alternatives—even though consumers didn't even know that beef was out.

So why announce it now? Despite beef consumption being down from 30 years ago, it has started to climb in recent years (likely due in part to the popularization of the paleo and keto diets). Epicurious says the conversation about sustainable food choices needs to be louder, so they're making their voice heard.

As they wrote:

"Addressing climate change requires legislation, international cooperation, and buy-in from the corporate sector. Individual actions like choosing alt-meat—or mushrooms, or chickpeas—instead of the real thing can feel so small they're essentially pointless. But every time you abstain from beef at the grocery store or a restaurant, you send a signal—to the grocery store, yes, but also, and perhaps more influentially, to whomever you talk to about your decision. Our announcement today is simply us loudly (and proudly!) letting you, the home cook, know about a step we're taking. (Admittedly, we're also hoping the rest of American food media joins us too.)"

The Epicurious editors also created a Q & A page about their no-beef policy in anticipation of people's questions, curiosities, and concerns. For example, they clarify that they are not removing recipes containing beef, they just aren't adding any new ones. They offer information on grass-fed beef as well as the carbon footprint of dairy, chicken, pork, and other animal products. And they explain why they're focusing on individual food choices when it's policy and systems that need to change the most.

"It's true that truly tackling the precarious state of our environment will require policy," they wrote. "But policy isn't just at the state and national level. Rather, it's everywhere: at your local college, at your place of worship, at your place of work. Epicurious's ban on beef is policy too."

As they said, addressing the climate crisis is going to require action on various fronts, from governmental policy to corporate policy to personal policy. Each plays off the other, and making real change on each of those levels means doing what we can do. It doesn't have to be all or nothing, but we all need to do something. Good for Epicurious for doing something.

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Joy

Adorable Golden Retriever absolutely loses it when he runs into his vet at a bar

No one has ever been this excited to see their doctor.

@cosmo_andtheoddparents/TikTok

He wuvs his vet.

Not every dog might jump with joy after seeing their vet out in public. But for Cosmo the Golden Retriever, it was practically Christmas all over again when he spotted his own vet, Dr. Jones, at a brewery.

In an adorable clip posted to TikTok, we see Cosmo in pure, unadulterated bliss as he snuggles with an equally happy Dr. Jones, who, considering he’s still in his scrubs, might have just gotten out of work to grab a quick pint.

Watch:

@cosmo_andtheoddparents When you run into your vet in public #goldenretrieversoftiktok #vetlife #animallovers #petparents #goldenretriever #goldenretrievers #doglife #dogmom #dailyfluff #charlestondogs #doglover #charlestondog #brewerydog ♬ original sound - Cosmo

Ugh, the cuteness is too much to handle! People in the comments could barely contain their secondhand joy.

“He looked over like, “Mom, do you see who this is?” one person wrote, while another said, “What in the Hallmark movie? Adorable!!”

One person even joked, “Did we all check the vet’s hand for a wedding ring? (Said as a married woman. Looking out for you all, or something.)”

According to Hannah Dweikat, Cosmo’s owner, the two actually share quite a history. She tells Upworthy that when Cosmo was but a wee pup, he “gave a scare” after eating a Sago Palm seed, which are highly toxic to dogs, from a plant in their backyard, which of course resulted in him being rushed to the animal hospital and staying there over the weekend.

While that’s every pet owner’s worst nightmare, and certainly a scary situation for the poor fur baby, Dweikat says that “the calm and patient demeanor” of Dr. Jones and his staff put Cosmo at ease. And because of this, “Cosmo has always loved going to see his friends—especially because they give him lots of treats and snuggles.”

Cosmo and Dr. Jones’ buddyship has also blossomed thanks to proximity, as Dweikat only lives down the street from the clinic. “Which means we get to see Dr. Jones and his staff out in public at times and Cosmo takes every chance he can get to say hi,” she explains. This time, however, she was able to capture it all on video. Yay for us!

What makes a good vet?

While not every vet, however gifted, will be able to elicit this type of reaction from their patients, having a calming presence like Dr. Jones is certainly a good sign for pet owners to be on the lookout for when shopping around for their own vet. But that’s not the only quality a good vet needs. According to Saint Matthews University, a vet also needs to have high stamina (both physically and mentally), as well as an ability to tolerate unpleasant situations (you can’t faint at the sight of blood or vomit), a high level of emotional intelligence (maybe all doctors should possess this skill, but especially those who work with animals), adaptability, a sense of enthusiasm, and finally, excellent communication skills.

Dr. Jones seems to have these attributes in spades, and his patients clearly love him for it. None so much as Cosmo, obviously.

By the way, if you’re in need of even more content featuring this precious pup, you can follow Cosmo on both TikTok and Instagram.

This article originally appeared in February

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Joy

Comedian makes a musical about the most insane Facebook Marketplace transaction ever

Where is bed?

via ABC iView

Lou Wall performs "Facebook Marketplace: The Musical."

Buying, selling, or simply giving away an item on Facebook Marketplace can be a harrowing experience because you’re dealing with strangers. After posting an item, it’s common to come across people with terrible communication skills, hagglers, and those who love to complain, even if you’re giving it away for free. In addition, many scammers on Facebook Marketplace will try to send you fake payment confirmation requests or take the conversation to a less secure platform.

Aussie comedian Lou Wall had such a bizarre transaction with a woman named Eileen on Facebook Marketplace that she turned it into an epic PowerPoint slideshow musical with incredible twists, tons of bad grammar, and elaborate crime. To top it all off, Lou tried to give the bed frame away for free.

Lou is a comedian and composer who has earned critical acclaim for her solo shows, That One Time I Joined The Illuminati (2022) and The Bisexual’s Lament (2024).

- YouTubewww.youtube.com

Recently, Lou performed the musical slid show as part of her Breaking the Fifth Wall performance at the Melbourne International Comedy Festival.

Warning:The video contains strong language.

- YouTubewww.youtube.com

It all began when Lou put a bedframe up on Facebook Marketplace for free, and a woman asked if she could “negotiate the price.” Yes, really. Amazingly, the woman kept pulling out all the stops to get a discount on the free bedframe. Lou probably should have found someone else to give the bedframe to at this point, but then, we wouldn’t have this amazing story.

After the price was figured out, they made a time to meet up, but the woman didn’t understand that Wall meant 5 p.m., not 5 a.m. Who would be giving away a bed frame at 5 a.m? Lou told her to leave because moving a bed frame out of her place would disturb her sleeping roommates.


Eileen then sent Lou nasty messages before asking the big question that would become the hook of the entire bit: “Where is bed?” The pair then failed to meet again when Eileen showed up at 8 p.m. instead of 8 a.m. Even though Eileen clearly has a terrible grasp of time, she accused Lou of being unable to understand the “concept of time.”

The story takes a dramatic turn when Eileen shows up at the wrong apartment, enters through an unlocked door, and steals Lou’s neighbor’s bed while messaging her through the entire process. “Hi all, we have just been robbed. Our bed and sheets were taken from the front room. Please lock your doors!” the neighbor wrote. It had to be incredibly strange to have your bed—one of the largest pieces of furniture in the house—missing and your valuables untouched.

The story is hilarious, but also a great reminder to be careful who you hook up with on Facebook Marketplace, even if you are giving something away for free. Inviting a strange person to your apartment isn’t just dangerous for the people selling things, it could put your neighbors in danger, too.

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Internet

A nail salon made an ad so funny that people are taking road trips just for a manicure

Nailed it.

Representative photos by Wonderlane|Flickr and Aris Leoven|Canva

This Canadian nail salon has people packing their bags for a manicure

There are a lot of nail salons out there and, without word of mouth recommendations from people you trust, it can be impossible to know which salon to visit. Thanks to social media, though, many businesses have pages where they can advertise their services without having to spend a lot of money on traditional marketing practices like television, billboards, and radio. Doing their marketing using pictures and videos of their amazing work can help keep a steady flow of customers coming—but one Canadian nail salon is going with a slightly different approach.

Henry Pro Nails in Toronto, Canada is leaving the Internet in stitches after creating a viral ad for his nail salon. The video takes the beginnings of several viral video clips but instead of the expected ending, Henry pops in completing the viral moment in hilarious different ways.

It opens with a familiar viral video of a man on a stretcher being pulled by EMS when the stretcher overturns, flopping the man onto the ground. But instead of it ending with the injured man on the ground, Henry seamlessly appears laid out on the floor of his salon and delivers his first line, "Come to my nail salon. Your nails will look beautiful."

nails, nail salon, manicure, henry's pro nails, adsRihanna Nails GIFGiphy

In another clip, a man holds his leg straight up and somehow flips himself into a split. When the camera cuts back to Henry, he's in the splits on the floor of his nail salon promoting loyalty discounts. The ad is insanely creative and people in the comments can't get enough. Some are even planning a trip to Toronto just to get their nails done by the now Internet famous top nail artist in Canada. This isn't Henry's first rodeo making creative ads, but this is one is without a doubt his most popular—and effective.

"I will fly to Canada to get my nails done here just because of this hilarious video. You win this trend for sure," one woman says.

"Get yourself a passport and make a road trip! My bf and I are legit getting ours and its only a 4 hr drive from where we are in Pennsylvania. Their prices are a lot better than other places I've been too," another person says while convincing a fellow American citizen to make the trip.

"Omg, where are you located? I would fly to get my nails done by you," one person writes.

"The pedicure I had at Henry’s was the best I have ever had. Unfortunately made all other places disappointing and I don’t live close enough for Henry’s to be my regular spot," someone else shares.

To keep up with demand, in late October 2024 Henry's announced another location was coming soon in Vaughan, Ontario. Though there's no word on when the new "more spacious and professional facility" is opening just yet, customers can keep an eye out for Henry's next ad on social media.

It just goes to show that creative advertising can get people to go just about anywhere, but great service is what gets them to come back. If you're ever in Toronto (or Vaughan!) and find yourself needing an emergency manicure, Henry's Pro Nails is apparently the place to be.

This article originally appeared last year.

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Family

Dad shares 3 brilliant principles for fathers on how to teach sons to respond to setbacks

"We can help them see obstacles as opportunities to make things even better."

fullstrengthfather/Instagram

Kristoffer Koerper (@fullstrengthfather) shares how he taught his kids to overcome setbacks.

Life is hard. Every parent knows that hardship will come into their kids' lives in time, which is why raising resilient kids is a crucial part of parenting.

Instagrammer Kristoffer Koerper (@fullstrengthfather), a husband and father of three boys, shared an insightful post on how he is teaching his sons to respond well to setbacks. In the video, he explains how the family's broken trampoline became a lesson in turning something negative into a positive, and how other parents can do the same with their kids.

"Teaching our young boys how to respond to setbacks: 3 principles I'm working to apply," he wrote in the video's caption.

Koerper begins the video by explaining that the family recently broke its trampoline. "Initially my boys were devastated," he shares as the video shows one of his son's crying. "But instead of seeing it as a loss, I told them that this is an opportunity, guys. We can build something really cool if we just take it apart and use all the parts."

Taking their dad's optimistic lead and suggestions to make a fort or hideout, their attitude "immediately changed. Instead of sulking or crying, they got excited." From there, together they got to work and began to dismantle the broken trampoline to transform it into something new (spoiler alert: the boys decided to make a "secret military base.")

Koerper goes on to share, "As fathers we have a choice. We can teach our kids to focus on what they lose or the challenges, or we can help them see obstacles as opportunities to make things even better. And I believe they carry that mindset into life."

In the post's caption, he went into further detail on three specific principles that helped turn the broken trampoline into a positive experience, and how to instill a proactive attitude in kids when it comes to setbacks.

The first principle he shared is titled "Obstacles Are Opportunities." "I try to teach my boys that setbacks aren’t the end but the beginning of something new. Every setback is a setup for something better," he wrote.

The second principle: "My Reaction Shapes Theirs." "My boys mirror my emotional response to challenges. Stay calm, get excited about solutions, and they will too," he shared.

Finally, he shared the third principle to helping his kids respond well to setbacks: "Encourage Creative Problem-Solving." He elaborated, saying, "Instead of fixing things for my boys, I try to guide them in repurposing and rebuilding. It builds resilience."

Koerper's principles were well received by viewers.

"I love how curious the boys are, curiosity breeds brilliance," one viewer wrote.

"Kids need to have these minor setbacks as it makes them anti-fragile for bigger setbacks as they grow up. Setting a great example out here 🫡."

Another viewer wrote, "I love this. Resilience is something that has to be practiced. Not to mention all the fine motor skills and physical aspects of that exercise, you’re raising great young men!"

"Secret military base 😄 Love this. Keep em resilient and full of the ability to problem solve," said another.

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Disability

Man shares a simple example of how to 'perfectly' handle his stuttering

His brief interchange answered common questions about what to do—and not do—if a person stutters.

Photo credit: Canva

Learning some basic stuttering etiquette can make everyone feel more comfortable.

For some people, talking comes easily and words and conversation flow freely. For others, an obstacle can impede that flow, whether it's something that manifests psychologically, like social anxiety, or something that manifests physically, like a stutter.

People who find it super easy to talk might not know how to handle talking with those who don't, and some people's reactions can make a person who struggles feel even more uncomfortable than they already do. Most people don't want to make others feel bad, so learning about an unfamiliar perspective, such as what a person with a stutter might experience, can be helpful in avoiding unintentional discomfort or offense.

Travis, a speech-language pathologist who helps educate the public about stuttering, shared a video example of someone handling his stuttering "perfectly." The video shows Travis in his car at a drive-up window getting his food from a fast food worker and stuttering as he asks for some barbecue sauce.

Watch:

- YouTubewww.youtube.com

There are a few things the employee does right here. First, as Travis points out, the guy maintained eye contact with him through the stutter. Second, he didn't try to finish Travis's sentence or guess at what he wanted to say. Third, he waited patiently until he got it all out. And finally, he responded to Travis the way he would respond to anyone asking for barbecue sauce, as if everything was normal. Because it was. For a person with a stutter, this is how normal conversation goes.

As people in the comments pointed out, these are often the biggest questions people have about stuttering. Should I keep looking at the person while the stutter is happening? Is that more or less comfortable for them? If they're stuttering and I think I know what they want to say, should I go ahead and say it or wait until they get the words out? These are honest questions that people with no experience with stuttering might wonder about but don't feel comfortable asking directly.

stuttering, stutter, eye contact, conversation, connectionDon't avoid eye contact with a person who stutters. Photo credit: Canva

Commenters were thrilled to get guidance from someone with experience:

"I always thought maintaining eye contact would make someone feel more vulnerable. But I see it makes people feel seen, listened too and normal."

"Acting normal is so key. Ignore the stutter. Let them speak! Sometimes trying to help by filling in words is more hurtful than anything. My brother and dad have a stutter so I understood how to help. I later ended up managing an employee with a severe stutter that was never ending at first. He stopped stuttering when he realized I never once flinched, blinked too hard or did anything to suggest I was trying to help him along, and he felt secure that he had my full attention. Imagine if you're talking to your friend like normal, you let them speak and take their time. It is no different for stutters in my experience. Hopefully that helps people that encounter this. People can really be so intentionally horrible or unintentionally harmful when they're trying to help. Bless you!"

"This is good information to know. I'm always mortified when I think I'm being helpful but later learn that I wasn't."

"I’m so glad I saw this. I have a regular customer that comes into my place of work who has a stutter. I always feel bad because I don’t know if maintaining eye contact makes him stutter worse, or helps him. But I do exactly this. Maintain eye contact, wait for him quietly to finish, and carry about just like any customer."

"I love that you're saying what is the right thing to do. It's very important information. A lot of us have very good intentions and care about others, but we may not know how to tactfully handle some situations. Thank you for educating us!"

Other people who have experience with stuttering also weighed in to share their thanks.

"This healed a huge part of my preteen self. I used to always talk like this. No matter what. Thank you for being vulnerable like this and showing so many people. I saw this today, and I got humbled again. It put me right back there. I need to remember and honor that version of me more often. Thank you."

"I really appreciate when people wait for me to get my words out instead of finishing my sentence for me or trying to guess what i want to say. good for you dude!"

"Thanks a lot for showing your stutter and educating people! As a person who stutters myself, I find that most of the times what keeps people from truly connecting with me while I talk is the embarrassment of not knowing how to behave. That’s why I LOVE when they accept their embarrassment and ask me what would be best to do. Be genuine, no worries!"

conversation, stuttering, stutter, how to talk to a person with a stutter, stuttering etiquetteStuttering etiquette is actually quite simple.Photo credit: Canva

"I’ve had a stutter my entire life. I completely understand EVERYTHING you said. God, it feels so good to be seen. Love the videos man, good luck."

What exactly causes stuttering is a bit of a mystery. There are different kinds of stuttering, including developmental stuttering that begins in childhood and stuttering from other causes, such as a neurological event like a stroke or some sort of emotional or psychological trauma. Family history and genetics can play a role, as stuttering appears to run in families, and structural differences in the brain may contribute to a stutter as well.

Whatever the cause, stuttering affects around 1 in 100 adults, so chances are we'll all meet people who live with it. The more we learn from those folks, the more kind, compassionate, and inclusive we can all be.

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