We all have our personal feelings about how a burger should be cooked. But if there’s one thing that’s universally agreed upon, it’s that a burger on bun with ketchup and toppings should be very much dead. In reality, that’s not the case at all.

Your cow patty is a goddamn ecosystem. And yes, vegans, so are your seitan burgers.

Like everything else on the surface of planet Earth, our meals are teeming with life. We just didn’t notice until recently, when scientists began using genetic tools to study the invisible microbial ecosystems, or microbiomes, that permeate our world. Today, we’re just beginning to discover how the microbiomes in our bodies, our homes, and yes, our sandwiches ...Read more