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reducetarian
noun
ri-ˈdüs-ə-ˈter-ē-ən
someone who eats less meat — red meat, poultry, and seafood — as well as less dairy and fewer eggs, regardless of the degree or motivation.
There is a New Yorker cartoon in which two people are sitting across from each other at a table. Beneath is written: I’ve only been gluten-free for a week but I’m already really annoying.
Like almost all New Yorker cartoons, this one touches on something that isn’t always true but taps a cultural cliché. In this case, it’s that those who adopt certain diets (unless medically mandated) become insufferable. And even if that diet is a good thing for the planet — as veganism and vegetarianism are — there are still many of us for whom this level of commitment feels too hard. Too much. Too annoying.
But what if this good-for-you and good-for-the-planet approach to eating wasn’t rigid and righteous? What if it felt easy?
That’s the aim behind “reducetarianism,” which, as well as sounding like a newly made-up word (it is!), is a surprisingly straightforward approach to planet-friendly eating: You don’t have to give up meat and animal products; you simply have to reduce consumption of them. And, actually, you don’t even have to. It’s a suggestion, not an edict. It would be nice. Good for you. Good for the planet. Good for the people we share the planet with. Good for animals. Good.
Brian Kateman, the guy who co-founded the Reducetarian Foundation seems affable — exactly the type who might create a relaxed, easygoing movement in which people are celebrated for small steps and good intentions rather than shamed for their lack of conviction.
It’s not that Kateman doesn’t recognize the urgency in reducing carbon emissions, and he’s certainly aware that cutting meat and dairy from our diets is a powerful action to help that reduction. His site is full of important facts, including these:
- “Factory farms produce an estimated 500 million tons of manure each year — more than three times the sewage produced by the entire U.S. human population.”
- “The meat industry alone accounts for nearly 20% of global greenhouse gas emissions.”
- “Methane has more than 20 times the global warming potential of carbon dioxide, and is released in massive quantities from animal excrement.”
But Kateman and his reducetarian pals also know that, so far, pushing a meatless diet isn’t working. So, they figure, why not ease off on the stridency and encourage any steps in the right direction. Or, as they write, “The reducetarian concept appeals to individuals who may not want to radically change their diet,” but includes the vegans and the vegetarians, too.
They offer loads of resources to help us get started — encouraging “Meatless Mondays” and/or “Vegetarian Before Six” (which one assumes means meat/dairy only at dinner).
Though I hadn’t previously given myself a descriptor, it turns out that I have been a reducetarian for a while now, after abandoning an attempt at vegetarianism when my kids were small and, well, refused vegetables. (Is fruititarianism a thing? They would have happily adopted that, noshing on little more than melon and berries.)
We save red meat for special occasions and don’t eat pork at all at home. The more we lean toward grains and veggies, the more it makes up the bulk of our meals — an approach that feeds on itself.
It’s happened, no pun intended, fairly organically. No big announcements, no pre-warnings required about dietary restrictions when we’re invited to gatherings. Put another way, reducetarianism is easy. Nothing is … off the table.
