Eat Food. Not too much. Mostly plants.

[Matt555]

I went vegan for about 8 months and vegetarian for the next year. Didn't work for me. I did it for ethical reasons because anyone who knows anything about how a factory farm operates will have moral objections (factory farming is not as simple as just killing animals...abuse and torture is rampant).

Although I now eat meat and I am much healthier because of it and I will admit I like the taste, I do feel bad from time to time because I am a huge animal lover. If you would like, PM me and if you just want to cover shipping charges, I have 2 books I think you may find useful on these subjects. One is a big FAQ book on Vegan/vegetarianism and another is a simple cookbook with some easy recipes.

 

[King of Kailua]

Yeah I'm an omnivore, but proportionally I eat more vegetables than meat. I have eaten a vegetarian, and a vegan diet at times in my life, but I have returned to become the omnivore I am today. Most of the food I eat comes from local farmers markets, a garden at my home, and from a community garden organization that I participate with. The Community Garden continues to be a fantastic experience which has brought a diversity of fresh organic fruits and vegetables (and eggs) to the tables of many in our neighborhood who might otherwise not be eating so well. I am beginning the process of adding an aquaculture component to the community garden, so the neighborhood will have a source of aquatic protein and hydroponic vegetable production. Maybe even some ornamental fish and plants as well. If you are interested in gardening, shifting the paradigm of your food consumption economy, and healthy community development, find or start a community garden in your area. You will be pleasantly surprised by how much you can replace store bought produce with your own personally grown supply and enjoy the added plus of positive community development to boot! Of course, for most of you folks it is the cold, dead of winter but come spring consider getting a garden going. It is an empowering and liberating experience to grow your own food!

Join the food sovereignty movement!

 

[JPM]

I like vegetables. I like my red meat and my bacon. I like my fast food burgers from time to time.
There are very few things that I don't eat, and those are generally because of taste not content.
Moderation in all things (except those shaving related) is a good thing.
I respect other peoples choices in particular food products, and hope that others will respect mine.

That's pretty much my motto, exactly. I throw in a little exercise and try not to worry about it too much.

 

[MoJoe]

I'm an openly admitted omnivore. I'll eat meats and veggies/fruits/nuts. I am, however, uncomfortable with highly processed foods of both the animal and vegetable pursuations. For example, post college I worked part time at a market research company to earn extra money for my wedding/honeymoon. One of the surveys that we took was for a processed meat company. After asking so many questions about people's meat consumption and the varieties of meats they ate for 3 hours a night 5 days a week I could not bring myself to eat meat for over a month. I was eating veggies and fish for that month until the survey ended. Then my appitite for red meats, pork, etc returned but my dislike for processing foods continues to this day. I'll still consume processed foods from time to time because we can't escape processed products completely. But when I shop or go out to dinner I look for the simpler products over the processed ones.

 

[David in Boston]

I'm an openly admitted omnivore. I'll eat meats and veggies/fruits/nuts. I am, however, uncomfortable with highly processed foods of both the animal and vegetable pursuations. For example, post college I worked part time at a market research company to earn extra money for my wedding/honeymoon. One of the surveys that we took was for a processed meat company. After asking so many questions about people's meat consumption and the varieties of meats they ate for 3 hours a night 5 days a week I could not bring myself to eat meat for over a month. I was eating veggies and fish for that month until the survey ended. Then my appitite for red meats, pork, etc returned but my dislike for processing foods continues to this day. I'll still consume processed foods from time to time because we can't escape processed products completely. But when I shop or go out to dinner I look for the simpler products over the processed ones.

+1

Whenever possible I avoid processed foods.

 

[Doc4]

A couple quotes I found worthy of plucking out of much larger posts, to make sure the thread-skimmers don't miss them.

Pollan is an interesting writer. ...

At least as I understand, or have come to believe, I think the argument is not that we shouldn't eat meat at all, but that we should pay as much attention as possible to where all of our food comes from and how it gets to us ...

... meat constitutes a disproportionate component of the American diet. People just eat too much meat. This hurts everyone--both in increased healthcare costs, and in the burden that it places on the land, and the overall food supply. ...

 

[jkh]

The US food supply is utter garbage. This is a bit of an exaggeration, but no matter your dietary preference (vegan, vegetarian, omnivore, etc) there is an overwhelming supply of "food" choices that are completely devoid of nutrition.

Agribusiness has done to the food supply what Gillette did to shaving gear. Oh hell, who am I kidding - this is exactly what happens every single time the bottom line becomes more important than the product.

 

[silvertip beard]

Industrial corn and soybeans have driven the expansion of factory farming. It is one big F-ed up mess. Corn-fed beef, pork, and chicken are sick animals and the meat is of poor quality.

I agree that the industrial supply of soy-based vegetarian products is subject to the same problems as industrial corn-based products. Just more (soy-based) edible food-like substances.

The best solution is one of whole foods, locally grown in community or family farms, with animals that are treated humanely and given proper diet. I will be looking into a way to grown my own veggies next year and am considering learning how to hunt and prepare game.

Pollan's work has really opened my eyes. I'll never see a bag of Doritos the same again.

 

[Zombasaur]

Here's another vote for the cheap corn and soybeans (due to government subsidies) causing a giant mess of the food system, leading to factory farming. All the meat in our house comes from local farmers. We've even gone out to some of the farms and seen the animals where they're raised. After reading about CAFOs (and seeing video of them in "Food Inc."), no thanks on the factory meat. We probably buy 60-70% of our produce from the farmer's market as well. Plus, we're planning a garden this coming year. Eating food in season is great. Why waste money on an out of season hothouse tomato, when root vegetables are great in the winter!

 

[Big_Fuzzy]

If you are fortunate enough to have the money, look for a butcher who can supply you with grass fed cattle. The difference between a grass fed and corn fed is unbelievable as well as often resulting in a much more humane treatment of the animals.

I personally find vegetarian diets appalling, with most vegos being seriously defficient in protiein, iron and other goodies a hearty steak can provide. As someone heavily involved in the health industry, I come across vegetarians who look pasty and sick due to the lack of protein and iron in their diets. I think it makes far more sense to eat an animal in a natural fashion than to take a protein and vitamin supplement.

My 2 cents. I can understand not supporting the big industry, but discounting all meat is just foolish.

 

[kopio]

I am curious what you guys might think of venison and other naturally harvested meats. I had some great venison yesterday, butchered by a local butcher and harvested (i.e. shot) just a few miles from my home. It was, in a word, delicious. This butcher also raises all of his own goats and sheep, and only buys locally raised, (within about 15 miles I think) free-range beef. I do tend to buy organic whenever I can, often-times not so much because of the product, but because of the process (it tends to be much more environmentally friendly) of growing the product.

Finally....just to be a wiseguy...I have to say that steak is my favorite animal!

 

[Mysterion]

...I personally find vegetarian diets appalling, with most vegos being seriously defficient in protiein, iron and other goodies a hearty steak can provide. As someone heavily involved in the health industry, I come across vegetarians who look pasty and sick due to the lack of protein and iron in their diets...

Geez, I hate to quote myself, but...

...Giving up meat is not a free ticket to improved health or fitness. But it's a good start, and it reflects an awareness of the importance of diet as one of the building blocks. I've certainly met folks who ate no meat, but were not particularly healthy. I've also known quite a few vegetarians or vegans who were successful competitive athletes (I count myself in this category, though I no longer compete. Still, my doctors support my dietary choices, and are consistently impressed with my overall fitness, and excellent test stats.)...

 

[TexAg '01]

I too read the book, but do not see where you would conclude that a vegan diet is the answer. All he talks about is making sure what meat you do eat is hormone and antibiotic free, and that beef be grass fed. A great book, and I try to eat organic as much as possible, but meat is good for us, and more importantly, tastes GREAT!

 

[Mysterion]

...I'm always teasing my dog about opposable thumbs...Fact is....we evolved, they didn't, ergo....We can eat them if I want to! That's what happens when you are on the top of the food chain.

...I have to say that steak is my favorite animal!

I'd think this is a comfort to your dog.

 

[hypo_style]

Pollan was interviewed this week by Leonard Lopate on WNYC. You can listen to it here (the segment is at the topmost red bar, below the video segment). I really recommend it. He most certainly is NOT advocating a vegan or even vegetarian diet.

Here's a video snippet:
[YOUTUBE]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IvwAnBceo8o&feature=player_embedded[/YOUTUBE]

 

[michiganlover]

"If God didn't want us to eat animals, he wouldn't have made them taste so good!" -Miranda Lambert

(who is an avid hunter, outdoorswoman, and overall down to earth individual, and the person holding the knife in my avatar.)

 

[Gunky]

I've become a bit more cautious in what I eat, not a moral choice or my view on animals (I'll eat anything and have eaten lots of animals). However recently I found out that high fructose corn syrup gives me bowel trouble, my doctor said it's crap anyway so more of a reason to stay away from it. Tough since almost EVERYTHING that's not made from scratch has it, but nowadays more and more companies are using real sugar, since HFCS is linked to many problems. I also tend to stay away from overly processed foods due to reports of chemicals/preservative issues and have been buying more "natural" based foods. As far as meat goes, I'm a steak addict, but I cut back recently on red meat, only due to health concerns, I still enjoy a burger every now and then. I've started drinking organic milk and man it just tastes better to me, yet my mom thinks it's worse...go figure. What boggles my mind is we have organic options at supermarkets and better quality stuff for sale, yet sometimes it costs more than the run of the mill stuff. Why can't the "better" stuff be the run of the mill?

 

[winkydink]

I eat anything I can get my hands on. My motto: The cuter the animal the better it tastes.

 

[Rughi]

Mix together:

• 3 parts Michael Pollan
• 1 part Alice Waters
• 1 part Ted Nugent

And I think there may be hope for the world.

Roger

 

[hypo_style]

"If God didn't want us to eat animals, he wouldn't have made them taste so good!" -Miranda Lambert

Again, I don't think eating or not eating animals is the issue here, at least not so far as Pollan is concerned. I think the vegetarian vs. meat-eating argument is an unnecessarily polarizing red herring. It's much more complicated than that, and yet even more fundamental, and has more to do with how foods are processed, subsidized, and marketed than whether they are vegetable, animal, or mineral.