Are filters abused in Rails?

alternate_method_controller.rb

class MyController < ApplicationController
  def show
    @model = load_model
  end

  def edit
    @model = load_model
  end

  private

  def load_model
    Model.find(params[:id])
  end
end

filter_controller.rb

class MyController < ApplicationController
  before_filter :load_model, :only => [:show, :edit, :update, :destroy]

  def show
  end

  def edit
  end

  private

  def load_model
    @model = Model.find(params[:id])
  end
end

helper_method_controller.rb

class MyController < ApplicationController
  helper_method :model

  def show
    # Use +model+ freely
  end

  def edit
    # Use +model+ freely
  end

  private

  def model
    @model ||= Model.find(params[:id])
  end
end

method_controller.rb

class MyController < ApplicationController
  def show
    load_model
  end

  def edit
    load_model
  end

  private

  def load_model
    @model = Model.find(params[:id])
  end
end

The issue is how would you deal with global data. Like menu/cart etc if not using before filter