In his book Food Matters: A Guide to Conscious Eating, Mark Bittman presents an eating plan—complete with recipes—which he credits with helping him lose 35 pounds and lowering his cholesterol and blood sugar levels. He shares his easy-to-adapt strategies for eating sanely, judiciously, and consciously, as he puts it. One of the main focuses of Food Matters is the need to reduce our consumption of meat in order to improve the health of the planet and our bodies.
To put it right out there, I loved the book and would recommend it to just about anyone. If meat wasn’t such a polarizing thing in my immediate family, I’d buy everyone a copy, that’s how much I loved Food Matters. The content is timely and compelling, and the recipes are great. I was sad to have to return it to the library.
One of Bittman’s diet strategies is eating “vegan before six p.m.” He writes that most days, he aims to avoid animal products before dinner. Keeping on the straight and narrow early in the day and then indulging a bit at dinner helps him achieve a healthy balance without feeling deprived. He also emphasizes that this is the way he’s found to make sane eating possible for himself, that a diet is not one size fits all.
While I enjoyed reading about “VB6,” I couldn’t help but raise my eyebrow over the catchy label. I’ve heard people say that they’re vegan except on weekends or vegetarian except for bacon, etc etc. Whenever I’m in a lecture or some other classroom-type setting and someone asks if there are any vegetarians in the room, I always have an inner debate with myself over whether to raise my hand. Sure, I don’t really eat meat (save for the occasional piece of fish), but I don’t like labeling myself in that way.
I think some people feel more empowered when they have a movement/lifestyle they can publicly identify with, but I’ve never been comfortable with that. Why can’t I just politely decline to gnaw on a hunk of cow without having to explain myself?
I’m curious to know how some of you guys feel about labeling your diet, vegetarian or otherwise. What may be motivating for some could be a buzz kill for others…Do you have set “rules” for yourself or just go with what feels right?
i usually say “vegetarian-leaning”… but on the other hand, i agree with you that there shouldn’t necessarily be any pressure to identify with one particular -ism or another… i mean honestly who even cares what’s in my fridge? truth is, while veganism isn’t really my thing, i’ve been eating less meat lately because i’ve been trying to commit to eating only the most ethically-raised and environmentally sustainable animal products… and it’s often just easier to just opt out. thanks for the book recc, i will definitely check this one out. michael pollan is amazing!
I agree that sometimes it is easier to just opt out than it is to go through the trouble of finding ethically-raised, environmentally sustainable animal products. Even a carton of milk or yogurt makes my head spin a little. It’s tough to eat animal products consciously when you don’t have a lot of cash too. A big part of why I eat so many freaking legumes is because dried beans and lentils are cheap! Let’s ignore that eight-dollar jar of almond butter, though…
uh, and by michael pollan i meant mark bittman, of course! 🙂
When I called myself a vegetarian (for simplicity’s sake), it always made me feel a little uncomfortable. Not only because I would eat fish or chicken a couple of times a month, but because I didn’t like all the associations that came with the label. They didn’t really seem to fit.
But this is coming from a girl who cringes introducing herself by a job title, a profession, or even a first name, so I obviously have some self-labeling issues.
Yeah, I still often blank out when people say something like “tell me about yourself.” I usually mutter something about my mom being a hypnotist and my being a sagittarius and then look up to see how many people I’ve alienated so far and whether I should continue…
don’t know if you ever read my lj, but after 5 years of considering myself vegetarian, i’ve recently made the decision to just do what my body tells me to do – and that involves eating meat once or twice a week now. i try to go with the ethical choices when i can, however, labels like ‘free-range’ or ‘cage-free’ aren’t regulated by the FDA so you can never be 100% sure how much your dinner suffered. i still have some residual guilt about the decision, even though i know that i still consume FAR less meat than most americans. but at the same time, i feel better just copping to the fact that sometimes, my belly wants some animal protein. anyway, thanks for the book rec, i’ll check it out!
I feel like listening to your body is usually the best way to go, both mentally and physically. While I’d love to be comfortable calling myself a vegetarian—even vegan—for ethical reasons, I don’t think it would be the healthiest thing for me, psychologically. Restrictive diets are too easy to get obsessive about for some people, and while it may benefit the planet, you also have to consider your own well being, as an inhabitant of said planet. It’s a balancing act—and I totally agree with you that sometimes eating a little animal protein when you need it is not that bad when you compare it to the typical American diet.