Mark Bittman’s new title “Food Matters: A Guide to Conscious Eating" has come just in time for the post-holiday dieting season, though it seeks to remake itself as the new “non-diet diet”, of sorts. The question of “real food”—what is it?—has become a social issue rather than a distant subject of scholarly discourse. The organic and sustainable food movement is no longer confined to the upper-crust individuals who can afford $8 cage-free eggs. Eaters everywhere, and in every income bracket, are looking to eat well for less.  According to Bittman, this also means eating less of certain products in order to eat well.

Bittman introduces himself as a past overeater and junk food extraordinaire.  His own struggles with weight gain, and the inevitable medical side effects, are touched upon throughout. In the true style of Mr. Bittman, the final half of the book is devoted to easy recipes and cooking technique, perfect for putting his plan into practice for even the most unseasoned cook. Bittman is no medical expert, though his commentary often makes dietary transitions sound too easy. Drastic lifestyle changes are necessary to make this natural diet work, and a more cynical reader, not unlike myself, may think this too much sacrifice for a society perpetually interested in “get quick” schemes. It is our hamartia, so to speak.

However resistant we are as a society to individual change, Bittman does have a natural ability to connect with his audience, to encourage the changes he recommends, and to stress their necessity. Focus is not on less fats, carbohydrates or sugars, but on more foods consisting of their natural forms, in lesser quantities. Think butter over margarine, sugar over Splenda and full-fat over skim milk.  The pre-packaged, preservative based food industry advertises its products as relative to their natural counterparts. “Made with real beef!” is a great example of your local fast-food chain’s efforts to capitalize on a health-conscious populace. Though a product may look like the real thing, Bittman is a firm believer in Michael Pollan’s rule of five: if there’s more than five ingredients, stay away. 

Bittman does a wonderful job of outlining the environmental impact of our food choices.  Though he advocates the organic food movement in principle, Bittman does warn shoppers that not all products touting “organic” status are the best bet—“Big Food” industries have found myriad ways to snake around USDA labeling requirements. “Grass-fed” beef sounds absolutely romantic, but large agribusinesses aren’t willing to wait for the years-long process of livestock maturation in a natural setting. Steroid and hormone usage ensure that an animal will produce the maximum quantities of saleable meat in minimum time. The same argument goes for produce. Why wait for a crop to grow naturally when genetically–modified daguerreotypes can be on the market in half the time? Industrial farms can even advertise their produce as “full of nutrients,” a claim guaranteed to generate cash, though aided and abetted by unnatural practices. We want more and we want it now. According to Bittman, if the rest of the world were to follow the American diet, which it is already promising to do, almost all of the Earth’s available landmass would be necessary to achieve it. 

Bittman’s “Food Matters” is an important book because it is challenging. There is nothing “quick” about it, and that’s okay. His genius is in giving responsibility for the environment back to the reader. Though his human appetite for meat and a glass or three of wine at dinner will never go away, he realizes that he can no longer imbibe during every meal every day. He does what both presidential hopefuls, McCain and Obama, spectacularly failed to address during a rather unmemorable second debate:

“Since World War II, we have never been asked to sacrifice anything to help our country, except the blood of our heroic men and women…What sacrifices…will you ask every American to make to help restore the American dream and to get out of the economic morass that we're now in?” 

Bittman finally tells us what we all need to know, and answers the question that even hopeful heads of state have artfully sidestepped in the past. The answer? A lot. The world can no longer sustain our insatiable hunger, and it’s time we did something about it. If you are looking for a diet book this season, this is it.

-Natalie Fasano

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Natalie Fasano