Flexitarianism: Can you be a part-time vegetarian?

I found this article at http://www.newsweek.com/id/161559/page/1


I've added my thoughts and opinions into the article so when you see UPPERCASE words in (parenthesis), thats me talking.


Post your comments about the article











For the last 15 years, Dawn Jackson Blatner has been what's now called a ';flexitarian'; or ';almost vegetarian.'; (CAN YOU SAY OXYMORON?) 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,'; (WHY IS IT CONCIDERED STRICKED? YOU CAN EAT JUST BOUT EVERYTHING YOU WANT. EVER HEARD OF MEATLESS MEATS PPL!?!?!) 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.';





Even gourmet food writers, used to nightly courses of filets and pates, are advocating the eat-less-meat movement. In January, Mark Bittman, author of ';How to Cook Everything'; (Wiley, 1998), is coming out with new book called ';Food Matters,'; (Simon %26amp; Schuster) about how our diet affects global warming and ';globesity'; (global obesity). Bittman has been very critical of what he calls America's ';meat guzzling'; tendencies. ';I am an advocate of what I like to think of as a much saner diet鈥攁 largely plant-based diet,'; he says. A meat-based diet is, he says, ';not even close to sustainable.'; Last year, Bittman published ';How to Cook Everything Vegetarian,'; (Wiley, 2007), though he is not a vegetarian himself.





Bittman notes that Americans eat about 200 pounds of meat, poultry and fish a year鈥攖wice as much as the global average (YUCK!). 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 (NEGATIVE IMPACT!!!).





It's unclear how many people are official ';flexitarian'; converts, but nutritionists believe there are a growing number of people who are simply eating fewer meat entrees whether it's for health, or economic reasons or because there are more good meatless dishes on offer. Think how many Americans regularly eat peanut-butter and jelly sandwiches, pasta, bean burritos and cheese pizzas as their main courses, says Blatner. ';I do feel like that is a shocking thing, when you think about how much vegetarian food we eat without even trying.'; (THIS IS THE SAME GUY WHO SAID VEGETARIANISM WAS STRICT?!?!)


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 (DO YOU THINK THIS IS TRUE?).





Some vegetarian advocates hope that a movement that begins with eating less meat might lead to more people embracing a no-meat, no-fish and no-fowl lifestyle. Vegetarian Resource Group co-director Charles Stahler, calls it a ';step in the right direction.'; It should also inspire even more restaurants to create veggie options, and more people to realize that it's ';easy to be a vegetarian,'; he says. In fact, it already has become a bit easier for gourmet food lovers to find good meatless entrees. Last year a National Restaurant Association survey found that more than 50 percent of chefs rate vegetarian entries among their top 10 trendiest menu items (I THOUGHT THIS WAS INTERESTING).





Still, not everyone agrees that it's a great idea to be mostly vegetarian instead of going whole hog鈥攕o to speak. ';Given the environmental, cruelty and health impact of a meat-based diet, going vegan is best, going vegetarian is good, and being a flexitarian is like smoking two packs of cigarettes instead of ten, beating one pig down the slaughter ramp instead of two, and pouring a pFlexitarianism: Can you be a part-time vegetarian?
well i didnt read all of the article because i just dont feel like reading it


but i want to say that a ';flexitarian'; or ';part-time vegetarian'; is absolutly ridiculous


us true vegetarians dont take a brake or take weekends off





i dont think its fair that i have dedicated part of my life to sumthing and somebody else who does not even care or feel passionate about it can just decide to be ';part-time';


( =Flexitarianism: Can you be a part-time vegetarian?
flexitarianism is not real. If it was real it would be a half assed attempt at vegetarianism.





you can't be half pregnant.


you can't be half straight.


you cant be half vegetarian.


you either are, or your not!!!





you see where im going with this?
Oh my word. Why do such terms need to be created to describe someone who eats meat less often than the general populace? Should we coin a new term for someone who eats meat 50% of the time - a half-tarian? Should I coin a new term for me... I drink water 90% of the time but I sometimes drink freshly-squeezed orange juice. Does that make me a flex-aquatarian?
no. you can't be a part time vegetarian. you are either a vegetarian or your not a vegetarian.
Yes. People are entitled to eat whatever they like. Or does that only apply to vegetarians?
vegiterians do not eat meat if you are part time you are eatting meat



not so much.
People can call themselves whatever they want, consider themselves whatever they want, live their lives however they want. Within reason.





How other people look at them based on facts, their own and generally accepted definition of what is, is another matter. The validity of something is not necessarily based on fact but on general acceptance. For example, the concept of the existence of ghosts. many people believe in them so much that is has become a part of human culture. But it does not necessarily mean they are actually real. Perhaps one day the term ';flexitarian'; will be popularly acceptable, perhaps not. But people who call themselves ';flexitarian'; have the right to do so whether you agree with it or not.





the term ';vegetarian'; itself was a relatively recent term. I think it was coined only in the late 1800s. I'm sure it met a lot of non-acceptance and even ridicule back then too.