The Arrant Stupidity of Mark Bittman

I’m getting tired of being told what to eat. I am getting tired of the assumption, made, apparently, by all of our elected officials and now Mark Bittman, that I am too stupid and ignorant to decide for myself what is best for me and worst for me and what makes me happy. And I am most tired of being lectured to by a New York Times cook. Yes, Mark Bittman is a glorified cook. And a pretty good one. Some of his recipes are interesting, and he has an undeniable appeal when talking about food. His short videos that he made for the New York Times were fun to watch, and the food was occasionally worth making. But being able to roast a duck doesn’t make one an instant expert on food, economics, government, our political process, the Constitution, and most of all the concept of freedom, free will and autonomy.

His long, tedious, preachy and condescending article in the New York Times magazine is a mass of statist assumptions unfettered by any concept of personal responsibility. Apparently Mark Bittman knows what I should be eating, and he wants to use the coercive power of the state (in the form of taxes) to force me to do what he thinks is best for me. He conveniently ignores the fact that since the government began to tell me what and how to eat, the obesity rate has skyrocketed along with the diabetes rate and other presumably food-related conditions. Bittman also accepts the current science of nutritional advice, but fails to point out the huge problems with that advice. Has he forgotten that just recently our government scientists were pushing trans-fats on a gullible public? You know — the same fats that are now implicated in heart disease? Well, we aren’t so gullible any more, and most people are developing a healthy distaste for pronouncements from these same scientists about how to live our lives.

If Mark Bittman wants to eat less meat, less sugary soda and more vegetables…then good for him. His mother would be proud. But stick to cooking and stay out of my kitchen. I’ll eat what I damned well please.

3 Replies to “The Arrant Stupidity of Mark Bittman”

  1. His food looks good but has no taste. He is an animated talker, which feeds into tv and interviews, but as a chef he sucks.

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