The excellent food blog Simple Good and Tasty linked to a video from TED about what we eat and how it impacts our world. While I saw this video quite a while ago, after watching it again I was struck by this comment:
If you’re a progressive, if you’re driving a Prius, or you’re shopping green or you’re looking for organic, you should probably be a semi-vegetarian.
Now, I do a lot of flag waving and huzzahing for shopping local and organic and I really want people to support the movement. It really is better for you and your family and while it does definitely impact your budget’s bottom line, you will definitely see the pay off in the long run–unless of course you’re Andrew and you don’t want to live forever. Now, while I wholeheartedly believe that eating organic is great for you, I am not sure I agree with someone who admittedly is not a vegetarian but suggests that you at least be a “semi-vegetarian”.
What the fuck is a semi-vegetarian? Mark Bittman believes that we should advocate for a better diet for everyone. By using the term “semi-vegetarian” it would appear that he’s trying to do what he preaches because most believe that a side of fried potatoes and a slice of pickled cucumber count. While that’s great and all and I commend him on this suggestion and easy-to-remember term, I have to wonder what he means exactly. Does me eating two hearty salads a day, in addition to the other side vegetables I wolf down and attempting to add in whole grains (no, Cub’s whole wheat bread does not count) enough? Mr. Bittman can you please be more specific so that those of us who do not want to be a “full-vegetarian” (a.k.a. “rabbit”–I’m teasing people!) can go about meeting the lifestyle of a “semi-vegetarian”.
So what do you think about this? Do you believe that you eat enough vegetables while limiting your meat intake to consider yourself a “semi-vegetarian”? Perhaps you gave up meat long ago. What do you suggest that people do to make the transition from “full-on-environment-destroying-carnivore” to “semi-vegetarian”? Maybe you think this type of talk is all a bunch of bullshit (literally) and think that your current diet, even if it’s lacking in fruits and vegetables, is acceptable. Whatever you think go ahead and comment on as I’d love to hear what you have to say.
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October 23rd, 2009 at 8:33 am
Those Who Eat Organic Should Be Semi-Vegetarians? http://tinyurl.com/ylrkdfn
This comment was originally posted on Twitter
October 23rd, 2009 at 8:55 am
What the hell is a “semi-vegetarian”? RT @SouthMetroNews: Those Who Eat Organic Should Be Semi-Vegetarians? http://tinyurl.com/ylrkdfn
This comment was originally posted on Twitter
October 23rd, 2009 at 9:59 am
I’m definitely no vegetarian, but I agree wholeheartedly that limiting meat in your diet and eating more vegetables is good for both your health and the environment.
However, the term “semi-vegetarian” is not only confusing but would also probably alienate the meat lovers out there.
October 23rd, 2009 at 9:02 am
read @garciasn excellent, right-on post about semi-vegetarians: http://bit.ly/4FtRtK, then #ff him
This comment was originally posted on Twitter
October 23rd, 2009 at 10:26 am
Over the last two years (mostly since we started doing our csa) we have cut down the amount of meat we eat drastically, especially red meat. Erin got me a package of steaks for christmas (~10 steaks) last year and we still have some left in the freezer. What’s interesting about it is that we never made a conscious choice to cut back, it just happened naturally from being forced to use the food from the csa.
I think the research has shown pretty clearly that a diet that trends towards less meat is healthier for you in the long term (no citation, deal with it). I can’t say that I feel much different since we cut back on meat, but it’s possible that the changes are gradual and minor such that I wouldn’t notice them.
As far as the environmental impacts, I think eating vegeatarian dishes could have just as big of an impact as eating local. People say “if you eat one local meal a week, think of all the energy you save” and it’s true, but it’s also true of eating a meal without meat. (And a local, non-meat meal would be the best of both worlds ;)
BTW, I think the term “semi-vegetarian” is pretentious and I would never call myself that.
October 23rd, 2009 at 10:57 am
For all practical purposes, I am currently semi-vegan; meaning that I have given up dairy and eggs because of allergies, and have never been a big meat-eater to begin with. However, I am not rigid about it; hence the “semi.” But I’m not going to go around calling myself that.
I agree with Ben that “semi-vegetarian” is pretentious. Here’s why I think so: a lot of people (and I don’t mean to over-generalize if you are a proud veg!) wear the terms “vegetarian” and “vegan” like merit badges. Like saying that you’re vegetarian or vegan means that you are a better person than people that aren’t. I think that in actuality, it is a point of personal preference and belief. From an environmental standpoint, like the example of eating local, it isn’t necessarily true that vegs are doing a better job. This drives me crazy because I have known many a vegetarian that eat mostly processed foods (equally bad for the environment!). I think that the term “semi-vegetarian” is just another way to try to cash in on the halo-polishing effect.
Anyhow, I do agree that animal products tend to be harmful to the environment, and because of their Ph, are also harmful to our bodies when we have too much. I think that if you are going to eat animal products, limited amounts from known sources are the way to go. I think that the definition of “limited” varies from person to person, and each of us needs to feel that out for ourselves. For example, some blood types seem to need more protein than others to feel good, etc.
October 23rd, 2009 at 11:43 am
Personally, I’m tired of all the labels. Does it really matter? We all fit on a part of the spectrum that is everchanging. For some reason people feel the need to put themselves and others into a checkable box when related to food (and a lot of other things).
I really think the focus should be on eating the foods that are good for you and the bad foods just won’t fit in eventually.
October 23rd, 2009 at 11:45 am
My ancestors didn’t fight their way to the top of the food chain for me to be any type of vegetarian.
As for meat being bad, I recently watched a show on one of the science channels talking about our evolution and one of the reasons why we evolved the way we did was because of meat. The protein we got from that helped our ancestors brain size increase…
I think I’m actually more of a semi-carnivore.
October 23rd, 2009 at 11:46 am
And let me clarify: good foods and bad foods may be different for everyone.
October 23rd, 2009 at 12:01 pm
I don’t like the “label”, but I guess it makes sense. My wife doesn’t eat any meat. She likes Shrimp, and some fish, but no meat. When we started dating I asked her why she doesn’t eat meat, and she said it’s because she simply doesn’t like the taste. So over the years I have found myself eating less and less meat. I rarely prepare meat for dinner unless we are having company and/or grilling. I do order meat when we eat out because generally I don’t have it in the house. So if I was going to pick a label for my food perferences I would choose “semi-Vegetarian”. I love meat, but I rarely feel like cooking 2 meals to make everyone happy, so I have adjusted to eating the same as my wife and I do enjoy veggies.
October 23rd, 2009 at 12:31 pm
I went vegan well over a year ago, and after 4 months, relaxed my plan a lot and settled on a diet that excludes meat and poultry. Physically, I’m probably about the same good health now as during my meat eating days. I do find it more difficult to get lean protein – but it’s a matter of training myself to stock the kitchen more thoughtfully.
I’ve heard my label is “pescatarian” because I include fish, but I only use that label to scare my traditionally Catholic dad into believing I’ve picked a new religion.
My decision to change habits was the result of reading the book, Skinny Bitch. While the “skinny” part didn’t take, and I’ve managed to tune out the knowledge of hormones and antibiotics in my dairy, I can’t shake the mental images of what happens to animals between the farm and my plate. Even if the animal was local, organic fed, and humanely processed, it’s not for me.
Husband is a carnivore. He travels during the week, so we are free to eat what we each want. When together, I am happy to make hearty and filling vegetarian meals that he likes, or sometimes we’ll make separate meals, but prepare them at the same time and eat together. It’s not ideal (for him), but it works. My loss is that he used to make dinner occasionally for both of us – it hasn’t happened once since I stopped eating meat. Oh well.
October 23rd, 2009 at 6:48 pm
I’ve read that if all of our food animals were fed their natural, healthy diets, that we could prescribe beef and butter to clean out our arteries and promote heart health.
October 23rd, 2009 at 9:36 pm
I think that maybe just being aware of all the resources and energy that goes into meat production is a good start. Most of us (including myself) are pretty clueless as to how much land, feed, water, fertilizer, drugs, oil, and whatever it really takes to get that steak to your plate. I really don’t think that our current eating pattern is sustainable long term.
I am also pretty soft, so it does bother me (sometimes) to think of what it is that I am actually eating and what happened to it to get there. For whatever reason eating chicken does not bother me nearly as much as eating cows. It’s probably those cow eyes that bring on the guilt. ;) Please don’t come back with some hard ass comment about the food chain and nature. I understand that, but we are also evolved intelligent animals and I think we could all think a little more about the choices we make and how that affects the lower members of the food chain. If we all got to see our meat from birth to death we might have a little more respect for the things that we are eating. I remember a buddy of mine whose kids were shocked to learn that the cow that they were just petting at the petting zoo was also the same thing as the hamburger that they had just eaten for lunch. I think we are so industrialized and detached from the process that we really have no clue what we are eating.
October 24th, 2009 at 8:26 am
A carrot can be grown using high impact or low impact farming and processing (from an energy use/land management perspective) as can cattle or chickens. I think John nails it when he says we could all think a little more about the choices we make. Sadly, there is little transparency in our food system so it’s easier said than done.
October 24th, 2009 at 8:35 am
Chad – I kinda agree with you. The labels seem unnecessary and only feed the misinformation that is spewed out there on all of these food topics. For example, ALL farming is horrible on the earth. Organic farming is far from perfect too. Seriously, feces floating around the ground benefits nothing. I appreciate organic farming but the label has been overused, overhyped and nobody even knows what it means anymore (some never did). On the positive side, all farming has probably become much more efficient over the years which really does benefit everyone.
I consider myself to be a healthy eater, but I’m not one to avoid something because it’s not healthy. I bet most of you making the argument that we should only eat healthy foods eat your share of unhealthy items too. There’s nothing wrong with living a little and I’m not giving up my beer, ice cream and pork shoulders quite yet.
John – I certainly see your point. Nobody rolls into McDonald’s and thinks about the Cows being ripped from the pasture and killed to make your hamburger. Having said that I would encourage people to establish more respect for the animal like you suggested as opposed to having that cause them to stop eating meat. The reality is humans have evolved as meat eaters and there are many benefits to eating it. Here’s my hardass comment: I would encourage all meat eaters to get some blood on their hands – it really does help put it all in perspective. The one thing I don’t understand is how you think our current eating pattern isn’t sustainable long term – I certainly don’t see any evidence of that.
Mark Bittman – WTF? Are your trying to make people not like you.
October 24th, 2009 at 1:40 pm
Argh, when I said Chad, I meant Crystal. Reading too much lazy lightning I guess.