Comments on: Emeril Green Premiering Tonight!

By: Jaron

Jaron — Thu, 23 Jul 2009 19:54:30 +0000

Now that this program has been on the air for a year it would be interesting to see how people have responded to it. Here are a few observations of my own.

He has a very different personality on this show as compared to ‘Emeril Live.’ He’s working with a person looking for a solution, not just entertaining a studio audience and talking with the house band about how much garlic he just tossed into a pot.

Emeril made a trip to the US military to experience their cooking, which was an interesting change-up from the in-store scenario.

The show, Emeril Live, still airs on Fine Living Network and on today’s program featured veal which made me wonder how committed to green living he really is (I found that he used this recipe on Essence of Emeril in 2003, so he may have removed it from his cooking, but FLN still airs it and likely pays him). After seeing this episode I still Googled ‘emeril hypocrite’ and found this posting.

Seeing the wide range of recipes on Emeril Green has opened me up to trying new foods. That’s always a good time.

So, that’s +3, -1(a biggie). I still enjoy the program, but when I look at what he’s cooked and then apply it to my own meals, I do a lot of editing to make them healthier.

By: Shawn

Shawn — Thu, 11 Dec 2008 19:11:24 +0000

I am not a Vegan. I personally believe that in order to live a truly healthy life, you NEED meat, not only for protein but for essential vitamins.
It is also being found now that being a Vegan actually shrinks the brain.
I seriously wish that Vegans would stop talking down to those of us that eat meat – it doesn’t have to be every day, but any doctor will tell you that you need some meat in order to remain healthy.

By: rebekah

rebekah — Sat, 08 Nov 2008 01:19:41 +0000

I agree- when I first heard of the show I was excited to see some local, organic, vegetarian recipes. I have seen two or three episodes but they all still seem to center around meat as a main dish. I haven’t even noticed much of an emphasis on local food either. This is definitely a disappointment for a supposedly “green” show since both local and vegetarian diets make a much larger difference for the environment than just shopping at Whole Foods for stuff with buzz words on the labels.

By: Remy Chevalier

Remy Chevalier — Tue, 22 Jul 2008 15:25:37 +0000

I really, really wanted to “like” this show, but after they blew their wad by airing six new episodes back to back… I couldn’t even get past the second one… it just felt so contrived, like watching an interminable infomercial! All the shelves in the aisles of the Whole Foods filled to the brim with shiny displays, looked fake, articifial, no life. Wild Oats were fun to shop, while Whole Foods, first thing they did here in Westport is take down the community board! Result, independent health food stores, their business suddenly sky rocket… so it’s a good thing. But Emeril, we had high hopes, what happened? Make it real again! Take the show on the road, visit Greensburg! Pump some life into it, with regional farms, real people, embrace life… not these contrived, scripted, actors posing as humans with phoney cases of food phobias! Ridiculous.

By: Rachelle

Rachelle — Tue, 15 Jul 2008 17:09:11 +0000

For a truly vegan cooking show…check out “Christina Cooks” (featuring Christina Pirello with guest appearances by vegan doctor Neal Barnard)on PBS Create (digital cable channel)…Hopefully someone from Planet Green will notice her too.

By: Rachelle

Rachelle — Tue, 15 Jul 2008 17:03:06 +0000

I’m vegan and I used to watch Emeril on Food Network with my non-veggie hubby. I winced at Emeril’s food offerings…but I liked his upbeat personality and sense of humor. I still can’t get past Emeril’s catch phrase/mantra: “Pork fat rules!!”…If he’ll take that back…I’ll take him seriously. LOL! For now…I’m passing on this show.

By: michael

michael — Tue, 15 Jul 2008 13:17:37 +0000

Kristen,

Some great points and you’re right on every level.

I think the biggest problem a show of this type faces is audience. Since a majority of Americans are not vegan or vegetarian, Discovery is attempting to make it appeal across the board. It’s good business sense (and at the end of the day, no matter how green a corporation’s morals, it’s all about the bottom line.)

Now, what would be really cool is if Emeril grabs a large audience in the beginning (meat-eaters, veggies, on-the-fencers, etc.) and then slowly introduces more veggie-based dishes. Or how about entire shows dedicated to raw foods, vegan foods, etc. That would be cool.

I think for a network that’s so young, they right now have to play it safe. If Emeril succeeds as a hybrid cook of sorts (and that in no way is representative of his past), then perhaps we’ll see more cooking shows down the road that are even more green (aka, vegetarian, vegan).

By: erin

erin — Tue, 15 Jul 2008 03:40:31 +0000

this guy is a big fat hypocrite (quite literally and figuratively and i think that should be the name of his show) what about his restaurants (by the same name Emeril, not big fat hypocrite that serve un organic meat and other bad stuff. i hope the show flops.

By: Kristen's Raw

Kristen's Raw — Tue, 15 Jul 2008 00:47:58 +0000

I agree that baby steps are important, but it’s also important not to mislead people. One of the biggest challenges is media promoting animal products and by-products as healthy.

I hope people learn some new ways to make vegetables. I’m watching the second episode and I’m happy to see some juicing and lentils and more veggies. Maybe he’ll lose some weight by doing this show.

My other point was the environmental aspect: Claiming to be a show promoting an eco-friendly lifestyle when meat is not eco-friendly.

By: lindsey

lindsey — Tue, 15 Jul 2008 00:20:06 +0000

Eating organic can be a step on the road to eating completely vegan. It’s what got me started, actually. I think the most interesting part in the show itself will be how MUCH meat is incorporated in the dishes. Some people have a hard time letting go of meat products and until they learn how to cook with vegetarian meat substitutes will just scale back until they are able to completely switch over. Eating habits are hard to change. I think the show will be a great way to reach out to people who still eat meat but are trying to find the right path, if that makes sense?