The History, Business, Cultural Dynamics and Gender Politics of the Burger

The burger, long the All-American meal, is undergoing an identity crisis. From its shifting place in popular culture to the efforts, by investors such as Bill Gates, to seek to find the non-animal burger that can feed the world, the burger’s identity has become as malleable as that patty of protein, itself, before it is thrown on a grill. Carol Adams’s Burger is a fast-paced and eclectic exploration of the history, business, cultural dynamics and gender politics of the ordinary hamburger. After defining the burger as a modernist solution to protein delivery whose time has passed–and explaining why that is–Adams delves into the history of the veggie burger and the emergence of plant-based meats, including burgers.

For more information, see the Toronto Vegetarian Society's VegFest website.