Mark Bittman tells it all in the New York Times (5-15-12)
Beginning with the ethics of eating meat, he moves on to global warming, our own health, and sustainability issues like the availability of water, land, fossil fuels and phosphorous.
Mark does a magnificent job of sounding the alarm in this very well-done piece. As he sums it up near the end of the article (see link to complete article below):
It’s seldom that such enormous problems have such simple solutions, but this is one that does.
Mark Bittman is clear about what he enjoys eating. But he is consistently confusing when it comes to helping his readers learn about healthy eating.
Of course the simple solution for indeed the entire world is to make an aggressive move back to what Nature intended for us to eat in the first place. By doing that, we can solve our own healthcare crisis, reduce global warming, and preserve finite resources like water and fossil fuels. And finally we can end the barbaric practice of raising over 60 billion animals a year for our dinner tables.
But, what about Mark Bittman himself? Does he think the enormous benefits at stake are worth him making those simple changes in his own diet? Is it possible that he might actually “take a stand” for the first time? One of his readers on Long Island asks the same question—and actually inspired me to write this blog. Karen writes:
As a long time follower of yours, I must comment here. By treading on “both sides” of the fence—Vegan & meat eater— you open yourself up to controversy, and more importantly, weaken your very correct recommendations on both our planet’s health, and our own.
It’s time you “practiced what you preach”, and brought your “big name” into the new way of healthful cooking and shopping. The world of plant-based needs someone with your experience to convince “holdouts” like my husband that seriously GOOD food need not be animal based!
J. Morris Hicks
Bravo Karen, for telling it like it is. Dear Karen, Your advice to Mr. Bittman to “practice what you preach” was a breath of fresh air for me. I have been blogging about his wishy-washy approach to nutrition for the past 18 months and am dismayed that, although he probably knows more than 99% of the population about what we should be eating, he doesn’t use that “big name” of his to promote clarity.
Rather, he just adds to the confusion on this crucial topic—and as a result, has been more a part of the problem than the solution. America needs for at least one prominent leader to take a stand. So far, it’s not Mark, but he does have flashes of brilliance from time to time. Sincerely, J. Morris Hicks
The Bottom Line. You should read his entire article. I have a great deal of respect for Mark Bittman and continue to learn from him. In this article, talking about sustainability, he reported that in 1978, China was consuming almost 70 percent less animal foods than the USA. It is now producing twice as much and once they match our per capita consumption, they will be consuming four times as much as we’re consuming. He also reports that raising livestock accounts for at least 35% more global warming than ALL of transportation—and says it could be almost four times as much.
Click here to read Less Meat, Less Global Warming – NYTimes.com
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Six-Pack from Hicks—for health, hope & harmony on planet Earth
- Healthy Eating, Healthy World, The “big picture” about food (our book)
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- An essential scientific resource: The China Study by Dr. T. Colin Campbell; the primary book that influenced Bill Clinton to adopt a whole food, plant-based diet.
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- Food choices are the primary cause of our environmental problems, yet our world leaders, scientists & experts are Comfortably Unaware, by Richard Oppenlander.
Why should we be eating mostly plants? The “big picture” in 4 minutes.
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J. Morris Hicks, engineer. writer. big picture guy. 