If you can’t give up meat, cut down and still feel the health benefits – meet the Reducetarians

Want to eat less meat but can’t give up that bacon sandwich? Try joining the Reducetarian movement

Launched in the United States five years ago, it preaches a moderate cutback in the consumption of meat, poultry, seafood, eggs and dairy products

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Supporting or wanting to adopt a plant-based diet doesn’t mean you have to cut out animal products entirely. Photo: Alamy

Published: 2:00am, 16 Nov 2019Updated: 2:56am, 16 Nov 2019

When Brian Kateman started the Reducetarian movement in the US five years ago, his father, Russell Kateman, supported the concept of reducing the world’s consumption of animal products. He just didn’t follow the dietary approach himself.

Surely he could love both his child and Chick-fil-A chicken sandwiches?

Then, last year, Russell gave in and cut back on animal-based foods. “I was really addicted to meat and being lazy, but now I feel like a new man,” said the 67-year-old optometrist.

Since changing his eating habits, which included three-times-a-week visits to the fast-food chain, the Staten Island, New York resident has shed 20 pounds (9kg) off his 240-pound frame (his target weight is 200 pounds) and no longer needs to take cholesterol pills. His doctor also reduced his diabetes medicine. “I move more,” Russell Kateman said. “I enjoy life more.” And he’s meeting a Reducetarian goal.

Being a Reducetarian is about eating less meat, not cutting it out entirely.

The Reducetarian movement’s quest is “to improve human health, protect the environment, and spare farm animals from cruelty by reducing societal consumption of animal products”.

The concept of eating less meat, poultry, seafood, eggs and dairy isn’t new. But in an era of extreme diets, the idea of moderation and acceptance is novel.