Introducing the reducetarian
A new term aims to take away the stigma of veganism and its ilk.
One of the simplest solutions to the world’s ecological crisis is on the tip of your fork. Whether the centrepiece of your meal is a pasture-fed lamb chop from the hills of North Canterbury or a free-range rump steak grown in the King Country, considerably more greenhouse-gas emissions will have been generated in its production than in an equally protein-rich meal of pulses or nuts.
But although there are signs that people are increasingly aware that their diet has an impact on the planet, becoming vegetarian or vegan is a step too far for most.
For those who want to make a contribution without upending their culinary lives, Brian Kateman has come to the rescue with a new word and movement. The 28-year-old New Yorker was a vegan who found himself accused of backsliding by cynical friends and family every time he ate a slice of turkey at Christmas or Thanksgiving.
He figured the perfect had become the enemy of the good. Even culinary categories such as “semi-vegetarian” or “flexitarian” seemed to denote a rigidity that stood in the way of ordinary people taking small personal steps to reduce their meat consumption to help the planet.
So he and a friend came up with the term “reducetarian”, an all-inclusive concept to capture everyone who is cutting down on animal products, regardless of the degree or motivation. “Whether you’re a vegan or vegetarian or doing meatless Monday or ‘vegan before six’, all these strategies put us on the same team, which is trying to reduce consumption of animal products to create a more healthy, compassionate and sustainable world,” Kateman told the Listener.
He believes the concept is taking hold. “We are seeing more and more thought leaders and celebrities cutting back on meat, such as Miley Cyrus, Beyoncé, Ellen DeGeneres, and politicians such as [Democratic senator] Cory Booker.”
More than half a million people in the UK count themselves as vegan, three and a half times more than a decade ago, and a report by research company GlobalData concluded 6% of Americans identify as vegans, up from 1% in 2014. The same report found
44% of consumers in Germany were following a low-meat diet, up from 25% in 2014.
“This is not just a fad. But most people choose food based on price, taste and convenience, not environmental concerns,” says Kateman, who runs the Reducetarian Foundation. “As we’re seeing many more plant-based alternatives on the market that are affordable, delicious and convenient, it will make it easier to become reducetarian.”
This year, he published The Reducetarian Solution, a collection of essays on the economics, environmental impact and animal welfare issues surrounding the animal protein industry. A reducetarian cookbook and documentary are in the pipeline. on such commodities as cotton and palm oil, issues such as degradation of freshwater and measures such as pressuring global food companies to account for their environmental footprint throughout their supply chains.
British financier Jeremy Coller – who has invested in Sunfed Meats, Impossible Foods, Beyond Meat and Hampton Creek – is harnessing shareholder pressure through the Farm Animal Investment Risk and Return (Fairr) network. Since he set up Fairr in 2015, it has grown to include 71 investors with US$3.3 trillion in funds under management.
Coller, who has been a vegetarian since age 11, told the Listener “the concept of stranded assets is shifting [from fossil fuels] to food. Factory farming is going to become a stranded asset.”
He says investors have the power to bring about massive change in the way food companies operate “because we own them”. Fairr’s first target has been antibiotics in the food-supply chain, and it has also started pressuring food multinationals such as Unilever, Kraft and Tesco to come up with plans to diversify away from animal protein.
In a report he wrote with London-based ShareAction chief executive Catherine Howarth, Coller argues that the world faces a
The fiercest criticism of agriculture’s environmental footprint is directed at the intensive feedlot systems found in the Northern Hemisphere.
“protein bubble” that carries both huge risks and opportunities for investors. “As the world’s population rises and demand for protein grows, the current protein supply chain simply cannot cope …
“With the clock ticking on climate change and an imminent public health crisis, some governments are already moving to legislate against highly polluting and potentially carcinogenic foods. Forward-looking investors and large food companies can move now to respond to and help shape this burgeoning market.”
UNDER SCRUTINY
So, where does this leave New Zealand, which earned almost $6 billion from meat exports and $11.2 billion from dairy exports last year, and where half of all greenhousegas emissions come from ruminating animals and agricultural soils?
The fiercest criticism of agriculture’s environmental footprint is directed at the intensive feedlot systems found in the Northern Hemisphere, but New Zealand’s pastoral farming regime is also vulnerable. High rates of nitrogen leaching into waterways from intensive dairy farms and occasional animal-welfare scandals invite the scrutiny of international markets and consumers who, with the rise of such alternatives as Chicken Free Chicken and the Beyond Burger, will have a widening range of animal-free options to choose from.
Nash says it’s inevitable that New Zealand’s agriculture sector will face increasing pressure to provide a detailed account of its environmental impact. International food companies will be expected to report to their shareholders and consumers “not only their own direct emissions and impacts, but also those of their suppliers, and suppliers of suppliers. I think there will be increased demand for data and requests for disclosure. Countries with large agricultural footprints are going to need to be aware of, and part of, that dialogue.”
The Listener wanted to find out how Fonterra, New Zealand’s biggest exporter of animal protein, is responding to these trends, including the looming competition from cow-free milk companies such as Ripple and Perfect Day. However, the company refused our interview request. Instead, a spokesman sent a statement saying: “We monitor all developments relating to dairy. Alternative products have been in the market for many years, including soy, rice and nut products. Dairy is full of natural goodness. Nature has designed it to provide a complex mixture of proteins, fats, minerals and other nutrients, which provide a range of long-term health benefits to consumers. In monitoring these new developments and technologies, we look to see what they solve and provide to consumers.”
DairyNZ chief executive Tim Mackle was happy to talk, explaining that the industry group – in partnership with Fonterra and the Ministry for Primary Industries – is rolling out a climate-change strategy to help farmers understand agricultural emissions, and developing a pilot greenhouse-gas reporting scheme with 100 farms.
“We are among the world’s most efficient producers of milk and meat,” he says. “I fear that Kiwis might get the wrong idea that we are bad in terms of our emissions from agriculture – because we are not, in terms of our intensity.”
People in the developing world want to eat more animal protein, he says, and “while there is demand, someone’s got to produce it … [Given the projected 10 billion world population] I think synthetic or plantbased foods are a positive development for the world. But we still believe there will be demand for animal protein, particularly high-quality dairy.”
Mackle says he’s confident that researchers will come up with a fix for the problem
“Kiwis might get the wrong idea that we are bad in terms of our emissions from agriculture – we are not.”