
Mark Bittman has a straightforward way of sticking to Michael Pollan’s mantra from In Defense of Food (“Eat food. Not too much. Mostly plants”): He’s a “VB6 — Vegan Before 6,” he tells NPR. Bittman has lost 30 pounds by eating fruits, vegetables, and grains before splurging on “the food I love most — but with a little restraint” at dinner. He also congratulates himself for reducing greenhouse gases, however minimally, by moderating his consumption of the 10 billion animals the U.S. produces in a year. NPR follows Bittman’s dissertation with a recipe for cassoulet that calls for a pound of Italian sausage. Must be dinner.