Mark Bittman is a food writer for The New York Times. When he discovered he had developed high cholesterol levels and that his blood sugar was borderline he decided he needed to do something about his diet. His doctor suggested a full vegan regime, but, as a food writer, that was unrealistic, so he decided to become a part-time vegetarian.
No Meat before Supper Time
Speaking on the New York radio station WNYC in February 2009, Bittman explained: “My arrangement with myself is that from the time I wake up until dinner I eat only fruits, vegetables, whole grains, and legumes. I don’t even eat white bread during the day. And then starting at dinner, I do. I have one meal a day when I do pretty much what I want, which is normally quite indulgent.”
The result of this part-vegan diet is that in three to four months he lost 35 pounds of weight, his blood sugar and cholesterol levels were normal, and the sleep apnea from which he suffered went away.
Environmental Benefits of Vegan Diet
Reporting on Bittman’s VB6 diet in The Globe and Mail (May 18, 2009) Alexandra Gill wrote: “The New York Times food columnist and author was inspired when he read a startling statistic – global livestock production is responsible for more greenhouse gases than all of the world’s vehicles combined.”
Research at the University of Chicago backs this up. In a paper, entitled “Diet, Energy, and Global Warming” published in Earth Interactions Gidon Eshel and Pamela A. Martin found that “the greenhouse gas emissions of various diets vary by as much as the difference between owning an average sedan versus a sport-utility vehicle under typical driving conditions.”
The vegetarian diet had the least impact on global warming followed by one with poultry added. The least environmentally friendly diet was one heavy in red meat.
New Diet Movements
Alexandra Gill writes that “VB6 joins a small but growing trend toward flexitarianism – vegetarians with benefits, if you will.”
Michael Pollan’s 2007 book “Eat Food. Not too much. Mostly Plants” touts the benefits of a mostly vegetarian diet with small amounts of animal protein added. Pollan’s 2008 book, “In Defense of Food,” demonstrates how people can escape the Western diet and, by doing so, avoid what he says are most of the chronic diseases that diet causes.
Several cookbooks are available to help those who want to adopt a semi-vegetarian eating style. They include “The Flexitarian Table,” by Peter Berley (2007), “The Healthy Hedonist,” by Myra Kornfeld and Sheila Hamanaka (2005), and “Almost Meatless,” by Joy Manning and Tara Mataraza Desmond (2009)
Bittman, who prefers the term “less meatarian,” outlines his approach in “Food Matters: A Guide to Conscious Eating,” (2008).
In an interview with Alexandra Gill he said: “It’s about reducing the consumption and portion of animal products that you eat. It’s not even really vegan before six. It’s about eating more whole foods – in the real sense of the word, not the supermarket sense.”
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