Image by Dan Lewis

For many people, Mark Bittman’s name is synonymous with “The Minimalist,” the food column he wrote in The New York Times for 13 years, and later, the accompanying video series in which he prepared simple recipes for the Times’ Dining section. Through his column and numerous cookbooks, including “How To Cook Everything,” Bittman has made home cooking accessible to even the most timid cook.

In January, Bittman, 61, left the Dining section for the Op-Ed pages of the Times and became a food columnist for the paper’s Sunday magazine. In his opinion writing, he has used food as a lens through which to discuss key issues related to health, politics and the environment. In his first opinion piece as a columnist, titled “A Food Manifesto for the Future,” Bittman outlined some of the issues he planned to tackle: battling against subsidies for processed foods, outlawing concentrated animal-feeding operations and taxing unhealthy foods like soda and fast food. “The essential message is this,” he wrote. “Food and everything surrounding it is a crucial matter of personal and public health, of national and global security. At stake is not only the health of humans but that of the earth.” Bittman has taken on these topics and drawn attention to food justice and the environment, issues that are at the heart of the work of numerous Jewish organizations.

Forwarding the News

Thoughtful, balanced reporting from the Forward and around the web, bringing you updated news and analysis each day.

Terms(Required)

I agree to the Forward's Terms of Service and Privacy Policy

Email(Required)

The Forward is free to read, but it isn’t free to produce

I hope you appreciated this article. Before you go, I’d like to ask you to please support the Forward.

Now more than ever, American Jews need independent news they can trust, with reporting driven by truth, not ideology. We serve you, not any ideological agenda.

At a time when other newsrooms are closing or cutting back, the Forward has removed its paywall and invested additional resources to report on the ground from Israel and around the U.S. on the impact of the war, rising antisemitism and polarized discourse.

Readers like you make it all possible. Support our work by becoming a Forward Member and connect with our journalism and your community.

This is a great time to support independent Jewish journalism you rely on. Make a gift today!

—  Rachel Fishman Feddersen, Publisher and CEO

Support our mission to tell the Jewish story fully and fairly.

$90 $180

$360

Other amount