Culinary Schools--Should They Offer Flexitarian Cooking Classes?

Top culinary schools have added cooking classes that focus on using naturally grown and organic produce from local sources, free-range poultry, and wild rather than farmed salmon.

Hypocrite or Realist?

There�s a term for people who choose to reduce the amount of meat and increase the amount of whole grains, fruits, and vegetables in their diet—flexitarian. The American Dialect Society defines flexitarian as �a meat-eating vegetarian.� Some would say �hypocritical vegetarian� others would say �realist� but Charles Stahler, co-editor of the Vegetarian Resource Group, estimates that between 30 and 40 percent of the U.S. population are flexitarians. This dietary change has been attributed to a greater concern, nationwide, for health and fitness, and to a lesser degree, for environmental impact and animal rights issues.

Vegetarians Ease Up

Because flexitarians significantly outnumber strict vegetarians, even hard line vegetarian publications are backing off their once inflexible stance, acknowledging that any trend toward a vegetarian diet is a good one. A flexitarian diet, with the same emphasis on whole grains, fruits, and vegetables as a vegetarian diet, does, however, allow for the occasional addition of small amounts of fish, fowl, or meat.

Vegetarian Cooking Classes

Some culinary schools have long been dedicated exclusively to vegetarian, macrobiotic, and other natural food cooking. However, as people have started to change their diets from meals centered primarily on meat entrees to healthier vegetarian or flexitarian diets, mainstream culinary schools have added vegetarian cooking classes to their curriculums.

Culinary School Degree for Health

As more people recognize the direct correlation between personal health and well-being and the types of food they eat, they will travel the flexitarian route. You can be a chef in high demand by getting a culinary school degree that combines vegetarian cooking with cooking that still includes savory meat, fish, and poultry, just in smaller portions.

About the Author

Judi Sandall is a technical writer and practicing flexitarian. She graduated from the State University of New York with a BA in English Literature.

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