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Mark Bittman on Minimizing Meat Meals

by Leah Koenig · June 11th, 2008

Animal Care, Jewish Culture, Kosher, Meat, NYTimes, Participate!, Vegetarian

The New York Times’ Minimalist Chef, Mark Bittman, wants you to eat less meat. Or, rather, he wants to help you eat less meat:

“Let’s suppose you’ve decided to eat less meat, or are considering it. And let’s ignore your reasons for doing so. They may be economic, ethical, altruistic, nutritional or even irrational. The arguments for eating less meat are myriad and well-publicized, but at the moment they’re irrelevant, because what I want to address here is (almost) purely pragmatic: How do you do it?”

In theory, Jewish tradition is way ahead of the “eat less meat” curve – traditionally enjoying meat dishes for Shabbat and holidays only. In a post last year, for example, The OU’s head mashgiach, Seth Mandel said, “You have to understand, the Torah did not envision us to eat as much meat as we do. Rambam in the Mishneh Torah says that Jews should eat meat at most two times a week.” As Mandel’s quote suggests, what happens in practice is vastly different than the Rambam’s ideal – as highlighted in a Shavuot lunch I went to this week where the hosts served meat-filled soup, two platters of brisket, fried sole, and beef-stuffed cabbage leaves. The idea of Shavuot as the “dairy holiday” flew out the window at that meal!

Can Bittman – whose suggestions include “Forget the protein thing” and “buy more vegetables and learn how to cook them” get us closer to the meat in moderation ideal? Find out here.

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6 Responses to “Mark Bittman on Minimizing Meat Meals”

Jeff Yoskowitz Says:
June 11th, 2008 at 2:25 pm
What great timing for such an article. As it has been reported over the past few weeks, due to the postiville problems there will be a shortage of kosher meat and thus a major price increase (see http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/991819.html). Perhaps Jews will be forced to limit their meat intake? Then again, many could just switch to Treyf. I’m interested to see how this will play out.
phyllis Says:
June 11th, 2008 at 7:56 pm
i thought bittman’s article was pretty funny since there was another article on the same page that made a nice vegetarian staple – felafel – into a meat meal by adding *gulp* lamb! AND bittman’s article was accompanied by a recipe for a salad with BEEF on it, and a chicken recipe. i know it was eat LESS meat but really — couldn’t all the recipes have been just plain vegetarian!?
Rachel B. Says:
June 12th, 2008 at 9:50 am
Re: your host’s Shavuos lunch, Shavuos lasts 2 days, so eating solely dairy from Sunday night to Tuesday night is a bit much, don’t you think? Most families that keep the holiday eat one dairy meal, or some dairy treats mid-morning before their full holiday seudah.
Leah Koenig Says:
June 12th, 2008 at 9:55 am
You’re right Jeff – impeccable timing!

I agree Phyllis – I also thought it was a little funny that Bittman says he tries to stay away from meat for breakfast and lunch, but “all bets are off” for dinner. That still means he’s eating meat every day. Is that really cutting back?

Eating dairy for me never feels like too much Rachel B. – then again, I’m a vegetarian! Regardless, I thought the amount and variety of meat on the table was excessive and seemed out of place for the holiday.
Tzvi Says:
June 13th, 2008 at 11:16 am
Leave meat alone. The real problem is carbs.
Olga Says:
June 13th, 2008 at 2:15 pm
I love meat. And I really like Bittman. To try to expand my cooking repertoire, I started blogging about his recipes from How to cook everything Vegetarian cookbook.

But I’m not planning to give up meat :)