B-GOOD in Chapel Hill recently introduced a new line of flexitarian burgers. These are part of a growing trend of restaurant menu items catered to those with restricted diets.
[124s]
[AMBI: NAT SOUND OF PEOPLE TRYING BURGER IN RESTAURANT] (5s)
TRACK1: Jacob Chandron [CHAN-druhn] is sitting in a restaurant on East Franklin Street with a burger in his hands and a grin on his face.
[AMBI: NAT SOUND OF BITING BURGER] (3s)
TRACK2: This is no ordinary hamburger. This is one of the new flexitarian burgers that B-GOOD created for people who want to avoid meat.
[AMBI: NAT SOUND OF REACTION TO TRYING BURGER] (2s)
CHANDRON1 [10s]: That was really cool because like I could eat a burger. And I mean it wasn’t like completely like beef or anything, but it was really nice to be able to kind of like enjoy food that I used to enjoy.
TRACK3: It’s a special occasion for Jacob – this is the first burger he’s eaten since he became a vegan.
There are many reasons that people become vegan or vegetarian. Some people do it to support animal rights. Others do it to lose weight or just because it makes them feel healthier.
CHANDRON2 [14s]: I actually had like an interesting journey to veganism because I had a lot of like bloating and I was trying to figure out what the source of that was. I thought like I’d give vegetarianism a try, and sure enough, as soon as I started doing vegetarianism, a lot of the bloating went away.
TRACK4: His friend, Shalin Mahadevia [Ma-ha-de-VEE-a], had a similar experience. He cut dairy from his diet after he noticed how it made his body feel.
MAHADEVIA1 [8s]: You feel really lethargic and tired afterwards. You feel like you need to take a nap. That’s not how food should be making you feel. It’s supposed to give you energy, right?
TRACK5: He’s noticed recently that many more restaurants are starting to offer dishes that fit many dietary restrictions.
MAHADEVIA2 [10s]: I think it’s really important that people are becoming a lot more mindful of their eating habits, and that, you know, these places are opening up that give people options to try to change things.
TRACK6: The growth in vegan options has helped his friends with their dietary restrictions. While Jacob admits he’s fallen off a few times, he’s gotten better as more Chapel Hill restaurants start to offer vegan options.
CHANDRON3 [18s]: It’s really nice to have more like vegan options for me to like switch up my diet because ‒ it’s easy to quit veganism when there’s not much for you to eat, and and the fact that a lot of businesses are now like changing to be like conducive to a vegan diet is really… It makes me really happy, and I’m really glad.