11 May 2011

New on TED Books: Graham Hill’s “Weekday Vegetarian”

A vegetarian diet can markedly improve your health and fitness, but what if you still love munching into a juicy burger every now and again? Graham Hill has a powerful and simple solution: Become a weekday vegetarian. Don’t eat meat Monday through Friday. During the weekends, you’re back to being a carnivore.

Hill, who founded the eco-blog treehugger.com, has expanded the popular short talk he gave at TED2010 into a potentially life-changing digital book that explores the personal, economic and societal benefits of moving meat out of your diet. Don’t fear that vegetarian dishes all taste like sawdust. Hill includes 20 great-tasting veggie recipes to get you started.

Weekday Vegetarian is part of the TED Books series, which is available for the Kindle and all platforms that use Kindle Reader apps. Buy it on Amazon.com >>

Update: Now available on Apple’s iBooks platform too!

Discuss this Blog Post

Elizabeth Errico
May 11 2011
This is a clever idea, but I think it just creates an unnecessary chasm between ‘vegetarian’ and ‘omnivore’. The whole idea that one would have to “be a vegetarian today but not tomorrow” encourages the idea that there is something “other” about vegetarian food, instead of thinking of it for what it is: food, that doesn’t happen to include meat.

I try to follow Michael Pollan’s idea that we should “eat food, not too much, mostly plants”. This means that a majority of what I eat is vegetarian even though I’m still an omnivore. I just think of it food. When I eat a bowl of yogurt with granola and fruit for breakfast or a salad for lunch I’m not thinking, “I’m eating vegetarian food now”.

I think we’d go a long way towards converting people to the idea of healthier more plant based eating if we instead showed people how what they are doing already (and can do more of) is healthier for them and our planet.

-Elizabeth
http://www.foodieformerlyfat.com
- Graham Hill
  May 15 2011
  Thanks for your comment. I don’t see an additional chasm created here…it’s a simple set of rules that you can apply to your life to remain an omnivore yet actually have a grip on how much less meat you are eating. It’s about being conscious of what you are eating and recognizing that meat is in fact “other” and, for the reasons we explain, that we’d be a lot better off if we ate less of it. This is a program that shows people how to slightly modify what they are already doing for their and the planet’s benefit. And it fits perfectly into the “eat food, not too much, mostly plants” approach.
Amanda Giarla
May 11 2011
I’m interested in this book – Does it come in any other format? – Don’t have a kindle and I’m not sure if I ever will. Dyed in the wool Mac user here and when I can afford it I’ll be reading eBooks on the iPad. But for now is it an iTunes item to read on my laptop?
- Amanda Giarla
  May 11 2011
  Answered my own question. Didn’t know there was a free Kindle App for my Mac Laptop. Found it on Google. Downloaded it and registered… I’ll be reading this book shortly. -smiling-
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Heidi Cusworth
May 12 2011
I don’t understand why people can’t fully commit to something. Either be a Vegan, Vegetarian, or don’t. This part time stuff seems weak to me. Yes it helps some what, but why not go one step further and fully commit to a healthier life, if that’s what you’re trying to do. Having someone be a “part time” vegetarian implys that they are missing out on something, so that on the weekends they are allowed to eat what they want. This isn’t fair to those of use who don’t feel like we are missing out on anything, Everyone should do what they want, but try to do things fully.
- Graham Hill
  May 15 2011
  The point is that most people don’t make the leap as they either feel that it’s too much or they simply put it off until later and later never comes. 70% reduction in meat-eating is significant. If you’re the type of person that is “strong” and can go full vegan or vegetarian, great! If you’re not, perhaps this is a way to significantly reduce your meat intake.
Joe Monroe
May 13 2011
Heidi: the answer is: hunger – some people have it, lots of it, and some don’t. I can SAY I’ll only eat vegetarian, but it won’t happen, for a number of reasons, the most powerful one being: hunger. When I’m really hungry, which is quite often, it’s like having acute discomfort. I’m out of sorts, labile, in addition to the grumblings from the GI region. It’s a fire to be extinguished, now if not sooner. Whatever’s handy, not too expensive, and not totally unhealthy, that’s what I’m gonna eat. That could be vegetarian, but outside of salads, rice, beans or pasta, not much is readily available in the vegetarian arena. If you want to call that weakness, that’s ok, but I’m just being real.
Chuck Smith
May 19 2011
Hey, I’ve recently had quite a few new vegan friends lately, but I didn’t want to take the plunge and become vegetarian. After hearing your talk, I’ve now committed myself to eating meat just 2x per week. Now I’m going to try to reduce that to 1x per week. Thanks for your inspiration!
- Graham Hill
  May 19 2011
  That’s great to hear!
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Bernd Fesel
Jun 15 2011
My experience is: Once you start to eat vegetarian, you will also discover a new social world – it just happens. In my town in Dortmund the openings of vegeatarian restaurants are even celebrated as a step towards an open modern international city. I was surprised myself, but it is just a fact, not a hype.
Bernd Fesel
Jun 17 2011
Vegan and the City – we did a film in April on how vegan wonderworld makes Dortmund more attractive (english subtitles): http://tinyurl.com/6k482nv
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