What ever happened to the good old days when the worst things we had to fear on Memorial Day were traffic jams and indigestion?
This year, it's all about food poisoning by the nasty E. coli, Salmonella and Listeria bugs lurking in meats at millions of backyard barbecues. The U.S. Meat and Poultry Hotline's advice is to grill meat and chicken products longer and hotter.
Yet they fail to caution that high-temperature grilling forms lots of cancer-causing compounds. Do we really have to choose between food poisoning and cancer?
Luckily, enterprising food manufacturers and processors have met this challenge head-on by developing a great variety of healthful, delicious and convenient plant-based veggie burgers, veggie dogs and soy nuggets.
These wholesome foods don't harbor nasty bugs or cancer-causing compounds. They don't even carry cholesterol, saturated fats, drugs or pesticides. And they are right there, in the frozen food section of our supermarket.
This Memorial Day, let's stay safe on the roads and safe at the family barbecue.
Bill Canterbury, Baltimore