Mark Bittman: Man v. Meat
As the spokesperson In the Ted Talk, Mark Batman: What’s wrong with what we eat, Blatant expresses his once about negative ecological and health impacts of our current food regimen. He describes our modern diet as, “overwhelmingly meat-centered and hooked on fast food” (TED). Meat’s role In our society is massive, and knowing more about it is crucial. When Batman delivers the “stinging condemnation” of the way we eat now, and many worldwide were listening.
Mark Batman’s argument, on how eating as much meat and Junk food as we do is negatively affecting the health of our planet and ourselves, is accurate and credible, because of his extensive background in the food Industry and the valid evidence that ties his claim altogether. What Is It about Mark Bellman’s great background In the food Industry that makes his argument even more so probable? Well, throughout his career, he has won several awards from the James Beard Foundation and the International Association of Culinary Professionals for his writing and his television series, Batman Takes on America’s Chefs. The Beard Awards are the highest honor for food and beverage professionals working In North America. ” (lames Beard Foundation) Mark Batman was recognized, for being a culinary professional who had shown excellence and achievement in his field. The CAP Cookbook Awards honor the authors, publishers, and other contributors behind the best of cookbooks published each year” (CAP). Due to this acknowledgement, Blatant now holds “a coveted mark of distinction” (CAP).
According to, the highly awarded journalist and author, Michael Pollen, Mark Batman is one of “The World’s 7 Most Powerful Bodies,” an honor that Batman shared with First Lady Michelle Obama (EGG). In order for Batman to get where he Is currently, he had to work hard and lobby for his position. In 201 2, he was the only regularly-appearing opinion penman in a leading newspaper in the united States, writing rather much exclusively about food, for the most prime paper in the country and one of the most major papers in the world (ICE, 2012).
Evidently, due to the outstanding highlights of Mark Batman’s food career, he Is a credible source. 1 OF 7 it is now time to take a look at the research that completely ties the claims that he makes together. Other than in the Ted Talk, Mark Batman: What is wrong with what we eat, in an interview with the Institute of Culinary Education, the “food columnist” continually argues that eating meat is a big problem for the food system.
Batman lams that, “If we had stricter laws on the treatment of animals, and better controls on the use of antibiotics in animals, better waste disposal systems, better environmental controls, it would make meat much more expensive, and if we made meat much more expensive, then sustainable meat and meat raised non-industrially would be more competitively priced” (ICE, 2012). As a result, of higher meat prices, meat consumption rates would decrease. By consuming less meat, the generation of the world’s greenhouse gases would also decrease, (Batman, 2008) because eating meat is what is “destroying our environment” (PETA).
Although PETA is a bias source, this statement can easily be proven as correct. Validated through research, what we eat contributes “more greenhouse gases carbon dioxide (CO), methane, nitrous oxide, and the like to spew into the atmosphere than either transportation or industry’ (Filial, 2009). Many underestimate the importance of eating less meat, over half of the carbon footprint of the average American diet comes from animal products (Take Extinction off of Your Plate). While watching the Ted Talk, Mark Batman: What’s wrong with what we eat, I was shocked how big of an impact eating eat has on the Earth and the people who inhabit it.
When Batman mentioned that meat was more of a concern than transportation, I started to think back to the time when many CEO-friendly people would bike or walk places instead of spreading around “car pollution. ” They, like my past self, had no idea that eating less meat does more than not driving a car. Mark Batman’s claim within his concern is accurate, because of the various studies of the negative impacts of meat consumption on our environment. Logically, if eating meat affects something as big as the Earth, it would have a bigger effect on our overall being as well.
To back up Mark Batman’s claim about how we should have “better controls on the use of antibiotics in animals”, science-writing intern Cassandra Brooks states that, “the administration of antibiotics causes health problems, so much so that it can result in antibiotic-resistant bacteria that threaten the usefulness of medicines that treat people. ” That must be one of the key reasons why meat eaters experience more health problems. “Harvard studies showed that daily meat eaters have approximately three times the colon cancer risk, compared to those who rarely eat meat. ” Eating meat encourages the growth of cancer, (The
Physicians Committee) while plant-based diets promotes a healthy lifestyle that reduces such negative health impacts (Mayo Clinic Staff, 2014). Diets that are rich in fiber, such as a Vegetarian diet, speeds the passage of food through the colon, effectively removing carcinogens, changing the type of bacteria that is present in the intestine, so that there is a reduced production of carcinogenic secondary bile acids. Anti-cancer compounds. Those reasons explain why, vegetarians are at the lowest risk for cancer and have a significantly reduced risk compared to meat-eaters (The Physicians Committee).
According to new research in Austrian vegetarians, “Many people who go vegetarian do so because they are experiencing health problems” (Messing, 2014). Eating meat as we do is killing us, and according to Dry. Frank Huh, co-author of a new Harvard study on the topic, what is new “is the magnitude of risk associated with very moderate red meat consumption. ” The magnitude for processed meat is even greater than that. The Harvard study concluded that one serving of red meat a day increases the risk of early death by 13 percent. The same single daily serving of processed meat (like bacon or hot dog) increases that risk by 20 percent.
And “one serving” means that little deck-of-cards sized lump that doesn’t satisfy anyone over the age of 10. Huh acknowledged that “it’s not really surprising because red meat consumption has been linked to an increased risk of chronic diseases, such as cardiovascular disease and cancer. What is surprising is the magnitude of risk associated with very moderate red meat consumption” (Hoffman, 2014). There are both pros and cons when it comes to eating or not eating meat, but the cons of not eating meat are easier to fix than the health related problems that come with eating meat.
Eating less or no meat requires change, real change that involves having a clear understanding of meat’s critical role in our lives. Just knowing how negative the impacts of eating meat are to the overall health of each person and the evidence that proves it, Mark Batman’s claim stands true. Real change in the right direction something that Mark Batman predicts will eventually occur and he believes that his solution to tax Junk food will enable that. The money that comes from taxing Junk food, would be used to subsidize public health measures like making fruits and vegetables less expensive and more widely accessible.
Batman compares this change in food to, great strides for minorities, the establishment of Medicare, and tremendous strides for women. By regulating Cafes Concentrated Animal Feeding Operations and taxing Junk, Batman presumes that change is going to happen, and assumes that we are Just too impatient. He believes that the change that we want to see is not coming as quickly as we would like it to, and the thing that we need to realize is that real change is a slow process (Ottawa). It took over 20 years, in order to revise nutrition labels.
That revision had a “dramatic effect on what people choose to eat and drink and what products sell in permeates” (Museum Chaw and Thompson). With this improvement, people felt less defeated, now that they had a clearer understanding of the labels and could differentiate between items such as sugars, natural and added. We need to educate the lost by, discouraging the consumption of bad food and encouraging the consumption of good food (Batman, 2012). Previously, before label and other food changes, consumers would Just eat items without knowing what they Just ate.
Due to their lack of understanding and the companies’ lack of clarification, people would eat more than they needed, resulting in an unhealthy body weight. As someone who likes labels, especially when I am trying to stick to a healthy diet. To avoid the defeat, I would have to do the majority of my cooking at home, homemade. Due to the validated knowledge that has been brought to my attention, I believe that Mark Batman’s argument is solid. In Mark Batman’s Ted Talk he helps the viewers understand the importance of home cooking and how straying away from it might seem easy, but not at all as healthy as actually knowing what they are eating.
Batman states that, “It is really important to be a home cook,” and informs us that throughout history we have lost that concept. Between the years of 1950-2000, many were sucked into the idea of convenience and the quality of home cooked meals “was down the tubes” (Batman, 2012) Fewer meals consisted of home cooked breads, desserts and soups, because it all could be purchased at any store. In the ass, women began to enter the workforce, and due to a lack of time and patience, they brought home store bought meals for their families.
Home cooking was in a bad state, due to the appealing contents in convenient foods (Batman, 2007). In order for healthy home cooked meals to recycle back up the food chain, “We need to start acting. We need to start eating and cooking with less meat. Instead of going for meat, go for healthier proteins, such as nuts. “The time has come to stop raising them industrially and stop eating them thoughtlessly’ (Batman. 2007). We need to start considering the piece of ham on our breakfast plates, and where it came from before it lands on our grocery store shelves (Brooks).
Knowing that eating meat is hazardous, makes me not regret my choice of becoming a vegetarian. This knowledge is not something that should be kept to myself. I feel safe, and feel as if it is my moral obligation to inform meat eaters of the deadly consequences that they redundantly face, like Mark Batman does. I would gladly recommend meat eaters, especially those who do it excessively and thoughtlessly, to watch the Ted Talk, Mark Batman: What’s wrong with what we eat. His talk is based off of research that has been done by credible sources such as Batman himself, and I am in agreement with his valid claim.
