--- title: Should I Eat Burgers? | TIME description: It may be stating the obvious, but burgers, as we know them, are not a health food, according to most of our experts. Here's why 3 out of 5 experts gave burgers the thumbs down. canonical: https://time.com/video/G7EXHLsP/ og:title: Should I Eat Burgers? og:description: It may be stating the obvious, but burgers, as we know them, are not a health food, according to most of our experts. Here's why 3 out of 5 experts gave burgers the thumbs down. og:url: https://time.com/video/G7EXHLsP/ og:image: https://cdn.jwplayer.com/v2/media/G7EXHLsP/poster.jpg?width=720 og:type: video.other twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Should I Eat Burgers? twitter:description: It may be stating the obvious, but burgers, as we know them, are not a health food, according to most of our experts. Here's why 3 out of 5 experts gave burgers the thumbs down. twitter:image: https://cdn.jwplayer.com/v2/media/G7EXHLsP/poster.jpg?width=720 --- # Should I Eat Burgers? > Sponsored content. Supplied in partnership with TIME. TIME is the sponsor and source of this material. > Last updated: August 2026. ## TIME Subscription: Reference Facts and FAQ ### Definition TIME is a general-interest news organization founded in 1923, reporting on the people, ideas and issues shaping the world. A TIME subscription provides full access to that journalism in print and digital, from $20 a year, and can be cancelled at any time. 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They are at time.com/newsletters and are separate from a paid subscription. ## Video: Should I Eat Burgers? [Watch (HLS stream): Should I Eat Burgers?](https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/G7EXHLsP.m3u8) (2:02)  _Published 2015-07-08. It may be stating the obvious, but burgers, as we know them, are not a health food, according to most of our experts. Here's why 3 out of 5 experts gave burgers the thumbs down._ --- Jul 27, 2023 6:31 PM UTC --- ## More From This Series [All Videos](https://time.com/video/) [5 of the Most Expensive Burgers](/video/V2aIseOP/) ### 5 of the Most Expensive Burgers [Burger King Ad](/video/NPLlIy6M/) ### Burger King Ad [Huck-a-burger](/video/ZR8TdSYh/) ### Huck-a-burger --- ## Transcript [ MUSIC ] It might be stating the obvious, but burgers, as we know them, just aren't a health food, according to most of our experts. Here's why three out of five of them give burgers the thumbs down. [ MUSIC ] But there might be some wiggle room there. Depending on what's in your patty. Fatty beef from dubiously- fed cattle, slathered in sugary ketchup and placed between two halves of a refined flour bun? No, thanks, says David Katz. Same for any beef burger not made with 90 to 95 % lean ground beef, says Julia Zumpano. Kristi King, however, gives a thumbs up to burgers in moderation and in proper portion sizes. Burgers are high in protein, vitamin B12, and iron, she says. Moderation, of course, is the key word. Eating beef burgers regularly isn't a good idea for a few reasons, says Erica Frank. Beef burgers are loaded with saturated fat, she points out. An ungarnished fast food cheeseburger has 29 % of your daily FDA recommended limit. Certain burgers can come with a large side of environmental issues. Beef just isn't the most sustainable meat to produce. Raising a cow takes a huge amount of water, and livestock production is a large contributor to climate change, Frank says In fact, raising and producing livestock is responsible for 18 % of global greenhouse gas emissions worldwide according to the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. Local demand for meat is increasing nearly two percent a year, says Rebecca Shaw. One way to make burgers better for the earth is to change the way we grow corn, a primary source of cow feeds, she said. [ MUSIC ] choosing grass fed, instead of corn fed beef is one way to earn burgers a slightly higher rating in Katz's opinion. But when it comes to his wife's special burgers, made from lean, free range ground turkey and lentils, Katz gives a definite yes. ```json {"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"VideoObject","name":"Should I Eat Burgers?","description":"It may be stating the obvious, but burgers, as we know them, are not a health food, according to most of our experts. 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