We’ve all heard the phrase imitation is the sincerest form of flattery. We’ve all seen qualities in others that we admire and often try to imitate.
At age 5, I loved Reba McEntire! I impersonated her and I knew every word to every song! I even changed “Fancy” to “Chancey”. ‘Here’s you one chance Chancey, don’t let me down’, has a ring to it right?! I’m also reminded of my oldest sister imitating Linda Cavanaugh, a former news anchor. I can hear her now, “Good evening, I’m Linda Cavanaugh and this is the 10 o’clock news”. Last fall just before Halloween, my 7-year-old daughter clomped into the kitchen. I turned around to find her wearing my jeans, my t-shirt, my ball cap and my shoes. Between her giggles she tells me she’s going to be – me – for Halloween. While we all got a good belly laugh from that little episode, deep down, my heart was warmed that she would even play like she was going to be me.
There she is all decked out in my clothes! And for those wondering, she decided to be a monkey for Halloween instead.
To imitate someone is to pay the person a genuine compliment — often an unintended compliment. All three of these examples of imitation were not necessarily intended to be compliments, but they most definitely were!
I’d say almost daily we all try to imitate something that we’ve seen, heard about or experienced at some point in our life because that one thing or person left an impression. I find myself trying to imitate recipes of something I’ve tasted at a restaurant, a potluck, a friend’s house or some other event. I’ve made extravagant recipes, but my favorites are the simple recipes packed with flavor!
This was my lunch plate after Sunday morning worship. You really can’t go wrong with a ribeye steak, a stuffed mushroom and some broccoli for good measure.
There are two menu items that we are always on point for our family’s tastes. Those items are steak and a good old hamburger... both simple recipes, with big flavor. When you have a consistent, quality product to begin with, an enjoyable eating experience is much more attainable.
Today, imitation proteins are a hot topic. Plant based proteins are imitators of real proteins – pork, chicken, fish and my personal favorite, beef. I’ll just say, the ingredient list for these imitation proteins is rather lengthy and when trying read the list, I have to sound-out unfamiliar words in syllables like my first-grader does.
I’ll admit that just the sheer idea of these imitation proteins is troubling to me, especially when you consider what business my family is in. I will not be consuming anything but 100% authentic beef…the kind that comes from an animal on hoof and says moo. The kind of beef that is packed with 10 essential nutrients in just one serving and tastes delicious too!
If imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, it seems that beef producers have been paid an unintended compliment by those trying to imitate our product.
If you ask me, beef producers have earned several compliments thanks to the advancements and significant increase in efficiency. Compared to 1977, today’s beef farmers and ranchers produce the same amount of beef with 33% fewer cattle. The industry has accomplished this with better animal health, improved animal nutrition and improving genetics. Ranchers are doing more with less.
Notable and even more amazing, cattle can consume human-inedible plants and turn it into high-quality protein, micro-nutrients, and other important products. Often, the land cattle graze on is not suitable for growing other food products.
As beef producers, it is easy to be offended and very defensive when the topic of fake meat emerges. Let’s just remember that imitation is the sincerest form of flattery.