Part-Time Vegetarians: Flexitarians
For the last 15 years, Dawn Jackson Blatner has been what’s now called a “flexitarian” or “almost vegetarian.” She eats lots of fruits, vegetables, nuts, barbecued tempeh and veggie burgers with guacamole. But she sometimes indulges in a pork chop or her grandma’s pot roast.
It might seem like being a vegetarian of convenience isn’t particularly inspiring, but a growing number of experts and even some famous foodies are fans. They say that cutting back on meat, rather than abstaining completely, may be a practical compromise that benefits our bodies and our environment.
“It gives you the health benefits of a vegetarian diet without having to follow the strict rules,” says Blatner, a registered dietitian and author of “The Flexitarian Diet: The Mostly Vegetarian Way to Lose Weight, Be Healthier, Prevent Disease, and Add Years to Your Life” (McGraw-Hill, October 2008). “We know that people live longer and live healthier when they eat vegetarian, but it’s just too darn hard to do it 100 percent of the time.”
Bittman notes that Americans eat about 200 pounds of meat, poultry and fish a year—twice as much as the global average. He argues that not only is a heavily vegetable diet healthier for us physically, but that it’s also true that the industrial production and processing of grain-fed livestock consumes a huge amount energy and has a negative impact on the environment.
And while only 2 to 3 percent of Americans are traditional vegetarians, who shun anything that ever had a face, according to the Vegetarian Resource Group, vegetarian foods have become increasingly popular among non-vegetarians. “If you look around at every regular, mainstream grocery store, you have soy milk right next to regular milk, you have veggie burgers in the frozen section, and tubs of tofu sitting there in the produce section,” says Blatner. She suggests that many of those who buy these products may be flextitarians and not even realize it. Even dedicated vegetarians say they are somewhat flexible. A 2003 study in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition found that two out of three vegetarians say they can’t stick to a pure veggie diet all the time.
September 30th, 2008 at 2:00 pm
[...] Donnie wrote an interesting post today onHere’s a quick excerptEven dedicated vegetarians say they are somewhat flexible. A 2003 study in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition found that two out of three vegetarians say they can’t stick to a pure veggie diet all the time. [...]
October 10th, 2008 at 1:23 am
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May 24th, 2010 at 6:58 pm
She isn’t lookin so hot these days