Food Matters: An Interview with Mark Bittman
Chat with Celebrated Cookbook Author & New York Times Food Writer
Oct 23, 2009
New York Times food writer Mark Bittman knows his way around a kitchen. Yet perhaps more important, he knows his way around a shopping list when it comes to preparing food that benefits the body—and the environment—versus bogging it down.
Of course, he's never secured formal training in the culinary arts, but for Bittman—who lost 35 pounds by practicing his own mantra of “sane, self-conscious eating,” meaning more whole grains and greens and far fewer industrial animal products—it’s really a matter of commonsense and meal planning.
A celebrity on the food/cooking circuit, the East Coast-based author of the wildly popular How to Cook Everything cookbook and its subsequent follow-ups possesses a food know-how that’s never been more in demand. TIME magazine has sought him out to inquire about his simplistic, sensible approach to cooking, as have nationally syndicated shows such as NBC-TV’s Today and NPR's All Things Considered—never mind that he also was tapped by PBS to host his own globe-trekking food series, The Best Recipes in the World with Mark Bittman, and its prececessor, 2005's Bittman Takes on America's Chefs, and most recently, Spain: On the Road Again.
A longtime runner who turned to healthier eating to feel better, Bittman’s “lose weight, heal the planet” mantra is the centerpiece of his latest cookbook for Simon & Schuster titled Food Matters. Billed as part food theory and part recipes, the title provides its author with a stump from which to declare to the masses that it’s imperative to avoid junk food and consume far less “overrefined carbohydrates” and meat.
Often dubbed “The Minimalist,” thanks to the title of his long-running food blog and the fact that several of his cookbooks utilize said noun in their titles, the ever-busy Bittman took time Oct. 21, 2009, to discuss his latest book and views on food and cooking with Suite101.
S101: “Minimalist cooking” is a term I see used to describe what you do. To me, it sounds like something as simple as heating beans ‘n’ franks—can you define it for me?
Mark Bittman: “Minimalist doesn't mean non-cooking, and heating franks ‘n’ beans is borderline. Microwave ‘cooking’ of frozen entrees and buying prepared food from the supermarket is non-cooking. … Minimalist cooking—it's not a term I particularly embrace—(but) to me (it) means cooking that is either fast, without Herculean effort, and with a minimum of ingredients.”
S101: What constitutes ‘cooking’ for Mark Bittman?
MB: “Cooking, to me, means taking single ingredients, fresh or dried and occasionally canned, and combining them in more or less traditional ways—ways that didn't exist before food was processed.”
S101: In Food Matters, you discuss the topics of environmental challenges, lifestyle diseases and the overproduction and over consumption of meat, simple carbohydrates and junk food. Can you identify environmental challenges as it pertains to food and cooking, as well as their significance?
MB: “You can quote from Food Matters all you like, but in essence industrial production of livestock and all that's associated is responsible for an inestimably high percentage of environmental degradation, including a contribution to the gases that cause global warming that's recently been estimated to be as high as 50 percent.
“Thanks to over-consumption of animal products and processed food, from half to two-thirds of all Americans are either overweight or obese … (and) we get 7 percent of our calories from soda. … And, of course, obesity is a major precursor to lifestyle diseases ranging from diabetes to cancer.”
S101: I hail from a family of ranchers and farmers. My late grandfather grew cotton and wheat, and also raised beef cattle. In turn, I grew up with no shortage of beef on the table. Is the over-consumption of beef something that is inherently Southern or more universal in terms of the U.S., or even beyond, and have we gotten better at all in this area?
MB: “We eat nearly a pound and a half of animal products a day, half of which is in the form of meat or poultry, and there are few regional differences. It hasn't changed in decades. What has changed is the consumption of refined sugars and other processed foods, both of which have gone up. As has our consumption of calories—25 percent more than 20 years ago.
“All of these are near world-leading numbers. We get around 5 percent of our calories from fresh fruits and vegetables, less than we get from soda.”
S101: Do you think America's getting the hint about junk food in light of the fact our childhood obesity is reportedly at epidemic levels?
MB: “Getting the hint, yes. Taking action, not that I can see. I'm optimistic, but the sea of change we need isn't here yet.”
S101 What is the culprit of our waning health as it relates to food? Personally, as a single mom who spends hours and hours in front of computer to make a living, I know I do not exercise enough, nor do I have time to shop and prepare healthy food for me. Hence, I know my issue, I think, but what needs to change in the big picture society as a whole?
MB: “I think that's all addressed above. Exercise is an essential part of life; of course, we are not designed to be sedentary. But our completely unnatural diet is more directly responsible for our poor overall health.”
S101: Do you have one food tip regarding what we eat that's especially basic but in need of stressing?
MB: “Yes. Eat unprocessed fruits, vegetables, nuts, legumes and whole grains at every opportunity. Every time you eat a salad or rice and beans instead of a cheeseburger, you're doing yourself and everyone else a favor.”
Conclusion
Embraced by cooking enthusiasts and fellow food politicians alike for his approachable yet irreverent demeanor, classic-cookbook author Bittman is on a mission to change how the masses shop for and prepare the food they eat. And in the process, he hopes to heal not only the body human, but the planet, too. After all, he will confirm, when all is said and done, food really does matter.
AIC101
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