Lane Cardwell

Green Eggs and Ham

I am sure that when Dr. Seuss first wrote this story he could think of nothing scarier to kids than eating green eggs. How times have changed. Now the first thing that many customers are asking is whether the eggs, and the rest of the food, are green. Are they fresh, local and sustainable? Are they organic? A growing group of customers are paying more attention to antibiotic free, hormone free, vegetarian-fed beef and poultry. On the frontlines of the battleground of green foods is an old friend...the burger.

Organic burger chains and restaurants are growing in both number and degrees of success. One of the oldest, Vancouver, Washington-based Burgerville, is a 39-unit organic burger, sandwich, and salad chain that has been to the left of being right since 1961. They are located in Washington and Oregon.

Their menu is heavy on burgers, and the organization is heavy on sustainability. Here is an excerpt from their website:

"Burgers here are made from pastured vegetarian-fed and antibiotic-free beef. The eggs on our breakfast biscuits are from cage-free hens that have never been treated with antibiotics. Salads offer mixed greens topped with smoked salmon and Oregon hazelnuts. Even desserts and sides rely on seasonal, local ingredients—blackberry milkshakes are only available in season, as are the hand-prepared buttermilk-battered onion rings made from Walla Walla sweet onions grown in Washington and Oregon.

Burgerville purchases wind power credits equal to 100 percent of our electricity use, recycles used canola oil into biodiesel, and offers its hourly employees an affordable $15-a-month health-care plan. In recent years, we transformed our business plan, focusing on aligning all parts of our company with our values, finding new ways to serve our employees and guests and sharing our story along the way. The results were double-digit same store sales increases in 2006 and 2007. We are clear that conducting business sustainably is good business."

Newer chains are tackling the growing demand for organic burgers. O!Burger, in Santa Monica, California, is the first organic fast food restaurant in Los Angeles. O!Burger raises the stakes by being very specific on what you can expect, or not expect, from their food:

"We are a completely organic burger house. This includes the buns, the sauce, vegetables, meat, ketchup, mustard, fries and salad dressing. If it's edible, it's organic.

Organic food is free of pesticide, chemical fertilizer, insecticide, food coloring, genetic modification, cloning, antibiotics, steroids, hormones, and other unknown elements. The land on which the vegetables and fruit are grown, and the pasture on which the cattle graze, have been cleaned for a minimum of 3 years. Our grass-fed beef has fewer calories. It can be as lean as skinless chicken. The turkey burger is made of organic, free-range turkey.

Our intent is to be as eco-friendly as possible. We use packaging that is made from renewable resources that are recyclable, compostable, and/or biodegradable. Our cleaning products are green and non-toxic. Our wooden panels are reclaimed from a barn."

You might expect the green burger movement to have a firm footing in the West Coast states, but it is also thriving in other parts of the country. Elevation Burger, a Falls Church, Virginia based concept, began selling franchises this year. In creating the concept, the owner said that he was inspired by the organic burgers found on the, you guessed it!, West Coast. In addition to organic burgers, Elevation features fries cooked in olive oil.

Epic Burger, in Chicago, serves burgers made from grass-fed and grain-finished all-natural beef. The restaurant strives to conserve natural resources, and uses only sustainable ingredients. The restaurant’s packaging, and even its utensils, are made from compostable corn and potato products.  They have managed to replace all petroleum-based packaging.

In many of these concepts it would appear that an interest in the healthfulness of food extends to an interest in ecology and sustainability. Some concepts make it a bigger part of their public positioning, but all seem to practice it. Dr. Seuss is going to have to come up with something more than green eggs to frighten kids these days. Too many of them now hear it and smile.

Posted by Lane Cardwell on October 20, 2008 | Comments (2)