Lindsay Patterson

Mark Bittman taught me how to cook. No, he didn’t hold my hand as I cracked eggs, sliced vegetables, and got nervous about yeast, but his cookbook, How To Cook Everything, was constantly lying open on the counter for consultations. Known as “The Minimalist” for the New York Times, Bittman has always emphasized simplicity and fresh ingredients in cooking. It’s a philosophy that gained meaning with fellow Times writer Michael Pollan’s popular books on the food industry. Now it seems Bittman has partnered with Pollan to help people eat more ethically.

I must have a soft spot for balding white-haired men who write about the ethics of food, because I think this is great news. Recently, Bittman’s written two excellent articles for the Times about meat: one contemplating its energy costs, and the other encouraging people to eat much less of it, moving vegetables to the center of the plate, and using meat for flavor.

Much of what he writes echoes my own reasons for cutting my meat consumption to virtually nill. I think I got the idea from Pollan, though.

Watch Bittman’s TED Talk. He traces the evolution of the food industry decade by decade over the past hundred years, using many of arguments that Pollan shares in The Omnivore’s Dilemma and In Defense of Food. In fact, his conclusion paraphrases the sentences on the front of the latter book: “Eat Food. Not too much. Mostly plants.” One commenter on the Pollan/ Bittman compatibility wrote, “Pollan may inspire a lifestyle change, but Bittman actually teaches one the mechanics of getting there.”

I like to imagine Bittman and Pollan holding hands, prancing around pastures of grassfed cattle, shouting easy recipes to each other, and liberating the world from a destructive diet. The Turtles’ song, “So Happy Together” plays in the background. At least that’s my balding white-haired men ethical food fantasy.

You can listen to my chat with Michael Pollan (in which I do not share the above information) here.