HOW TO EAT MORE PLANTS

Rob, I owe you an apology.

Approximately six hundred months ago you asked me for ideas on how to nudge your family in more of a plant-forward direction, and as is typical (at least for me), your email was so goddamn important to me that I never made time to respond to it.

Good news, though: so many readers loved and responded to my “Why I Don’t Eat Animals” post last year, and constantly write in asking about food-related topics, that we decided to turn it into a whole thing.

Enter: How To Eat More Plants.

Today’s post is more of a macro introduction to the why and how of the “eat more plants (and consequently) fewer animals” lifestyle.

Deep-dives on how to eat fewer animals, by type, including meat/beef/pork, chicken/turkey, dairy, and fish (and humans! Can’t forget humans) will follow in subsequent posts.

My overall goal is to help you — someone who already gives a shit for one reason or another — understand why eating more plants and fewer animals is intersectional as hell.

It’s:

1. Great for the climate

2. Great for your health

3. Great for animals

4. Delicious

5. Easier than it’s ever been

6. Definitely easier than you think

That said, without a proper guide, the road can be treacherous, as various hobgoblins lie in ambush, including:

1. Highly-processed “plant-based” foods that may be either just “bad” or actually terrible for you

2. Even more misleading product labels like “natural” or “fortified”

3. Actual plant-based foods with little nutritional value (almond milk) or that are mostly sugar (I’m looking at you Oatly)

4. Greenwashing by and for industry groups in promotion of eating animals/drinking dairy (animalwashing?)

For each animal family, I will provide not only context for the why, but also tiers of the how — beginner, intermediate, and expert.

I will share with you the easiest ways and my favorite ways to make plant-foods at home (if it requires any prep at all), my favorite ways and places to eat out, tricks, tips, and all kinds of other Action Steps you’ve come to expect from us here.

But why?

If there is One Rule to Rule Them All, it is this:

Eat as many different colors of actual plants as possible, every day.

The oceans will thank you (less heat to absorb), the atmosphere will thank you (less methane), the soil will thank you (more varied crops), your immune system will thank you (less antibiotics in your food), and you better believe your gut and your poop will definitely thank you.

You have never, ever had poops like plant-based poops.

As you’ll discover, this One Rule is both crystal clear, and a bit of a choose-your-own-adventure sort of thing. Because while I have long and cherished experience drowning mushrooms and brussels sprouts in olive oil, salt, and pepper and then broiling them to within an inch of their lives, you may have never eaten either of these, or prefer, say, a few gallons of hummus, peas, tofu, grilled squash, roasted cauliflower, or — the world’s greatest food — sweet potato.

Or you might not have any idea yet! Which is also great!

Never fear. While some rules like the One Rule are made to achieve 80/20 outcomes, there’s also some grey (gray? YMMV) area to explore, and that’s where my “beginner” tier will go. For example, subbing in Beyond Burgers for ones made of cows.

Are they “good” for you? Of course not.

Are cow burgers worse in every conceivable measure? You betcha.

Can you cover them in sautéed mushrooms and caramelized onions to the point where they taste exactly the same? You can!

My goal, whatever level you’re at, will be to meet you at the intersection of:

1. Where you are and

2. What is most important

…which is simply for you, and all of us, to eat way less fucking meat.

But why?

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