“If I didn’t know what I was eating, I would have no idea it was not beef.”

Eric Bohl is Director of Public Affairs & Advocacy for Missouri Farm Bureau, the state’s largest farm organization. He drove to St. Louis to try his first Impossible Whopper at Burger King. He liked it.

“The two burgers did not taste identical, but the difference was small. The Impossible Whopper’s flavoring seemed a bit more external, as if it came more from something applied to the patty than from the patty itself. The traditional Whopper’s flavor seemed more intrinsic to the meat. That said, the difference was pretty minor. If I didn’t know what I was eating, I would have no idea it was not beef.”

“If farmers and ranchers think we can mock and dismiss these products as a passing fad, we’re kidding ourselves. This is not just another disgusting tofu burger that only a dedicated hippie could convince himself to eat. It’s 95 percent of the way there, and the recipe is likely to only get better. Farmers and ranchers need to take notice and get ready to compete. I’ve tasted it with my own mouth, and this fake meat is ready for prime time.”

Next month I will have been meat free for six years. No beef, pork or poultry. I’ve never been sure if fish is meat but I do eat fish. I haven’t been in a Burger King in years but I’m looking forward to trying the Impossible Whopper.

Update April 12, 2019 – The following is from an article by Mark R. O’Brian, Professor and Chair of Biochemistry, Jacobs School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences, University at Buffalo, The State University of New York. A more technical explanation of some of the science behind the Impossible Burger.

“The Impossible Burger includes an ingredient from soybeans called leghemoglobin, which is a protein that is chemically bound to a non-protein molecule called heme that gives leghemoglobin its blood-red color. In fact, a heme — an iron-containing molecule — is what gives blood and red meat their color. Leghemoglobin is evolutionarily related to animal myoglobin found in muscle and hemoglobin in blood, and serves to regulate oxygen supply to cells.”

“I recruited a scientific colleague in St. Louis to try out the Impossible Whopper, and he could not distinguish it from its meaty counterpart. Although he was quick to qualify this by noting all of the other stuff on the Whopper may mask any differences.”

One morning three years ago I looked down while getting in the shower and noticed a bulge in my lower abdomen, about the size of a golf ball. Uh oh. My doctor informed me it was “just” an inguinal hernia, nothing to be concerned about. As long as it wasn’t giving me any problems I could put off having it surgically repaired.

So I’ve lived with the little guy for the last few years. About a year ago I started wearing a truss because being on my feet all day left me feeling a little achey “down there.” I thought about surgery from time to time but kept putting it off on the theory that if you can avoid surgery — any surgery — you should. But having a hernia seemed like an “old guy” thing to me. I’m not ready to be an old guy.

I finally got tired of looking at — and thinking about — the thing and went to see a surgeon who specializes in laparoscopic repair. Had it down this morning and was “under” for less than an hour. Three small incisions starting at the belly button and working down.

A little nausea from the anesthetic and some some soreness but an amazingly simple procedure. Should have had it done when it first showed up. Watch this space for post-op updates.

UPDATE: (October 2, 2018) Little soreness, moving slowly. Rented a car rather than try to drive the truck (manual brakes and steering).

This article appeared on the Washington Post website in January of this year. It’s far and away the best (most useful) thing I’ve read about pneumonia. Couple of excerpts:

One reason is that the detritus from an infection of the lung is hard to clear. Antibiotics kill the bacteria, but all the weaponry your body produced to fight the bacteria — mucus, essentially, or sputum, as it’s called once you cough it up — is left behind. […] Cough is a primary way to clear the gunk. That’s why doctors advise pneumonia patients not to take cough suppressants. You want to get that stuff out.

The energy drain (your body fighting the infection) burns calories and proteins. When illness dampens appetite, that can exacerbate fatigue and weakness. He advises: “Eat good protein and take plenty of calories.”

The flu has been wicked bad this year. Neither Barb nor I have gotten it (so far). We both got flu shots. But my recollection of the flu was you felt like hell for a week (or two) and that was it. I’m here to tell you the aftereffects of pneumonia can drag on for months.