#126 “Meat me Halfway”, Reducetarianism with Brian Kateman

Finally, I can say I watched a genuinely balanced documentary about food and the environment. I’ve seen all the classics: “What the Health”, “Forks over Knives”, “Gamechangers”, “Food Inc” “Seaspiracy” and others like “Kiss the Ground”. I’m constantly asked about it on social media and friends. Did you see INSERT DOCUMENTARY NAME. What did you think? And invariably I always have to point out the flaws, the biases, the shock tactics, the spin.

But this documentary is refreshingly different. “Meat Me Halfway” produced by my guest today, Brian Kateman, is a documentary about finding common ground at the dinner table. It poses more questions than answers and it allows you to make your own mind up. It doesn’t have a clear ideology woven through the narrative and it’s more exploratory than it is explanatory or defensive.

When I was watching the movie, I made notes to pick up on with Brian when I knew I was going to speak to the documentary host, but a little later in the movie they discussed the nuance of that topic. I didn’t have any follow up questions to the answers they posed at the end of  the movie, because there weren’t any answers. This is complicated. 

And the conversation we’re having within our own avocado toast eating echo chambers,  centres around idealism rather than practicality. And this is why I thought this documentary was particularly great.

Brian is also co-founder and president of the Reducetarian Foundation, a non-profit organization dedicated to reducing consumption of meat, eggs, and dairy to create a healthy, sustainable, and compassionate world. The ‘Meat Me Halfway book’ is out next year and ‘The Reducetarian Cookbook’ is available in all good bookstores.

Listen the end where I reveal my favourite meat alternatives and hacks to reduce your meat consumption whilst maintaining a nutrient dense diet.  

Do check out this week’s “Eat, Listen, Read” newsletter, that you can subscribe to here on our website - where I send you a recipe to cook as well as some mindfully curated media to help you have a healthier, happier week.

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