Cooking the Books with Mark Bittman, Tara Mataraza Desmond and Joy Manning
By Lynn Andriani -- Publishers Weekly, 2/27/2009 1:01:00 PM
Mark Bittman’s new book Food Matters: A Guide to Conscious Eating (Simon & Schuster) is part manifesto, part cookbook, the ultimate goal being to teach readers to lose weight and “heal the planet.” Bittman suggests we do that by eating less meat, among other things. Coincidentally (or not?), Joy Manning and Tara Mataraza Desmond just wrote their first book, Almost Meatless: Recipes That Are Better for Your Health and the Planet (Ten Speed Press), which includes recipes for carnivores who don’t want to cut meat out of their diets completely. We brought the three authors together to discuss the timing of their books and how they respond when people ask, “Where’s the beef?”
PW: So, you’re all talking about eating less meat. How’d that happen?
MB: Good ideas happen. What surprised me on book tour was how many people said, “I’ve been eating this way for six months,” or, “I wanted to do this. Thanks for showing me the way.” A lot of people haven’t thought about this, though. Food Matters hasn’t sold 30 million copies. It’s not as if this stuff is in common parlance.
JM: One thing that is encouraging is when it comes to being a vegan or vegetarian, people are willing to make small changes over time. That may lead to the trend growing.
MB: That’s a perfect statement.
TMD: A lot of people are generally clueless about some aspects of the way food is influencing our planet and our health. It’s a good sign that two books are out at the same time to encourage people to eat good food. It’s not complicated. I feel strongly in saying that anyone could make these things if they spend a little time in their kitchen.
PW: Who do you imagine buying your book? Vegetarians, carnivores, both?
JM: I used to be vegetarian, and many of my friends used to, too. But it’s not so sustainable for most people. Eating less meat is approachable; it has more flexibility. So I see one-time vegetarians going for this. But I also see both types of people coming to this way of eating, as well as anyone who wants to cook and eat delicious, nourishing food.
MB: Most people, when they become vegetarian, just simply increase their intake of dairy. And if you look at the nutritional content of dairy, it’s not that much different for meat. It’s not particularly healthy for you or better for the environment. You don’t really gain that much by becoming a vegetarian. The thing that we’re all arguing is that it’s about cutting back on animal products. I don’t want to say dairy is the same as meat, but it’s really close.
PW: What’s the response been to your books so far?
TMD: It’s been interesting to watch reactions from people. They say, “That’s similar to the way I’ve been eating,” or, “I don’t eat that much meat, but my husband really likes meat.” There’s also this section of people who edit out the word “almost,” and assume it's a vegetarian cookbook.
MB: That happened to me, too.
TMD: They immediately assume it’s a vegetarian cookbook. It’s indicative of the way people have eaten. Meat is the center of our plate.
MB: When I was on book tour, I felt like I was preaching to the converted. I’d be really curious to see what it’d be like to go to the middle of Texas or real beef country.
TMD: My most marked response has been from my father-in-law, who lives in Oklahoma and has stricken the color green from his diet. He joked and rolled his eyes. A lot of Americans will do that, but I think there’s an upward trend of people being aware of their food.
JM: I cooked a dinner party with recipes from the book. At first, people were saying, “Where’s the entrée?” But they ate, and then they were full, and realized you could eat a dinner without a big slab of protein in the middle of it.
