Just before the holidays, Brian Kateman emailed me about a new movement he had co-founded called Redecetarian, which aims to encourage reduced consumption of meat, fish and dairy with a view to both reducing agricultural greenhouse gas emissions and improving public health outcomes. Here's the scoop from the press release:
“Many people are aware that their food choices have real-world consequences but believe that the only solution is to completely eliminate meat from their diet,” said Kateman. “While this all-or-nothing mindset can be discouraging to the 95% of individuals who are not vegetarians or vegans, the #LessMeat Pledge empowers everyone to make healthier and more eco-friendly food choices in a manageable way under an inclusive identity - Reducetarian.”
I confess, I was initially a little skeptical.
It's not that I disagree with the goals of the campaign. After all, reducing meat and dairy consumption is a prerequisite for tackling climate change and improving human health, even if it's politically tricky to bring about. It's just that we already have so many different terms, diets, concepts and movements being promoted for what is essentially a similar thing: Meatless Mondays, Weekday Vegetarianism, VB6 (Vegan Before 6), plant-based diets, veganuary etc.
You get the idea. I was pondering on the value of yet another conceptual framing of a fairly simple idea. But I might be overthinking it.
