Sustainable Dish - Diana Rodgers, RD

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Sustainable Dish - Diana Rodgers, RD

Registered Dietitian helping people locally and via skype. Also a writer, speaker, podcaster and sustainability expert living on a working organic farm.

Advocate of REAL FOOD for human health & the environment

06/17/2025

Ceramic gazelle. I’ve always loved how graceful they are.

Thank you at for your help!

05/24/2025

Pretty happy with these recent soda fired pieces

04/18/2025

Sustainable Dish 2.0… pretty close!

03/30/2025

Had a lovely time at yesterday at the “Petit Pause” gathering. Wonderful food and people. I highly recommend checking them out for a retreat or wedding venue in Maine.

01/27/2025

After years of rejections from journals targeted at dietitians, this paper has finally been published. It questions the value of “meatless initiatives” and shows that reducing red meat consumption can cause harm to pregnant women, children and those vulnerable to undernutrition (hunger) and overnutrition (obesity).

We were trying to get in front of dietitians to encourage them to see how meat consumption can actually help with solving many nutrition problems, because of the important micronutrients in meat, and because of protein’s satiating qualities.

Some of the ridiculous rejection comments were:

“It is known that meat contains nutrients, but also deliver far more calories than plant-based foods, making it very easy for people to consume more calories than they need, and therefore execrating the obesity epidemic” (not true and we showed this in the paper)

“We generally eat more protein than we need anyway.” (nope)

“Reduced physical activity is a major reason for sarcopenia, many elderly people do consume adequate protein.” (not true)

“Almost no one in the U.S. is protein deficient.” (false)

“Iron needs in pregnancy cannot be met even with red meat, that’s why the recommendation is an iron supplement.” (false - absorption is better with heme-iron than supplements)

“Promoting more food intake for people with obesity who already consumed too much is not prudent.” (we are promoting different, not ‘more’)

“The commentary fails to make a sufficient contribution to the literature.” (really?!?)

These comments were also similar to why my book, Sacred Cow, was rejected by so many publishers.

If you think that “science” is settled, and that there’s no bias against meat among dietitians, here’s proof that’s wrong.

If you’d like to read and share the paper, it’s published in Frontiers in Nutrition.

Considering the nutritional benefits and health implications of red meat in the era of meatless initiatives Front. Nutr., 26 January 2025
Sec. Nutritional Epidemiology
Volume 12 - 2025 |

12/30/2024

I’ve made a big decision—one that fills me with excitement and purpose. Over the past few years, I’ve felt my passion for battling the food and sustainability wars slowly ebbing, while my desire to create art and embrace a slower, more intentional way of life has only grown stronger.

This shift led me and my fiancé to discover an old farmhouse with a charming post-and-beam barn in New Hampshire. Soon, I’ll be bringing life to this space with livestock, gardens, and plans to convert the barn into a creative sanctuary—a haven for art, community, and renewal.

As I’ve stepped back from the daily grind of nutrition debates and limited my time on social media, I’ve noticed some encouraging changes in the broader conversation about health and sustainability. Public perception is shifting—fake meat companies are losing steam as stock prices tumble, investments dwindle, and skepticism grows. More people are waking up to the fact that fossil fuels—not livestock—are the primary drivers of climate change, and that regenerative agriculture holds immense potential to combat global warming.

Ideas I’ve been advocating for years—like “any meat is better than no meat” and “it’s not the cow, it’s the how”—are finally gaining traction in mainstream conversations.

I’m incredibly grateful to my supportive life partner, my two amazing children, and all of you who have been with me through this journey. Your encouragement, especially through projects like Sacred Cow and the Global Food Justice Alliance, has meant the world to me. Thanks to your generosity, I’ll be making one final meat-to-school donation in 2025 using the remaining funds.

This isn’t goodbye. I’ll still share updates and photos through my website, Instagram, and the occasional newsletter. I’ll also continue consulting and speaking on a very limited basis. Plus, I’m hopeful that my academic paper on meat’s role in undernutrition and obesity will be published soon—rest assured, I’ll let you know when it’s out.

As we welcome the New Year, I’m looking forward to this new chapter with gratitude, joy, and a renewed sense of purpose. Thank you for your support and belief in me—it’s made all the difference.

12/23/2024

Animal death is a by-product of large scale plant production.

In order to grow vegetables and grains at a large scale, farmers must till the soil, killing worms, mice, and any other animals that might have made a home in their field. When it comes time to harvest, tractors kill many small animals like rabbits that are in the way.

In some countries, agricultural practices have a human cost as well. Have you ever spent a day harvesting vegetables? It is incredibly labor intensive and at times dangerous. If these plant products are not well sourced, there is also a possibility that underpaid children or exploited immigrants were involved in their harvesting. It's funny how infrequently I hear about worker's treatment from vegan activists...

Just because that head of lettuce or package of tofu isn’t visibly covered in blood when you buy it doesn’t mean something didn’t die in a gruesome way to get it to your grocery store.

So what’s the solution? Buy your vegetables seasonal and local if you can. Get to know your local farmer to learn about their practices and bring costs down by buying meat in bulk. And remember, eating meat doesn’t make you a bad person! We should all endeavor to be stewards of the planet on which we live, and that means understanding our role in regenerative and destructive processes alike, minimizing harm to both humans and animals where possible.

*** And I know that some will claim "intent" - meaning if you didn't intend to kill something, that somehow that death wasn't really your "fault" but once you know something WILL die for you to eat, then that logic fails. Plus, is that death less meaningful to the mouse knowing you didn't INTEND to kill it with pesticides so it wouldn't eat your wheat?

12/19/2024

Who knew — only real milk can be called milk!

Despite a previous 2019 ruling in their favor, Oatly ultimately lost to Dairy UK, which argued that calling plant-based drinks "milk" is misleading.

What do you think about this news? Let me know in the comments!

https://www.euronews.com/green/2024/12/05/post-milk-generation-no-more-oatly-loses-right-to-call-its-drinks-milk-in-landmark-uk-ruli?inf_contact_key=5b0971617f1757bca3cbe46f6fa4c146cc0558ed5d4c28cbfab114022b1ec50d

12/17/2024

Is meat the problem....

or is it the high fructose corn syrup in the ketchup and soda, the highly addictive fries cooked in hydrogenated soybean oil, the high processed bun....

foods like burgers have been classified as unhealthy because of the meat patty

So, replacing this beef patty (note, this is simply beef, salt and pepper) with a vegan patty makes it perfectly healthy, right??

if you swipe through these slides you'll notice the ingredient list for the patty is the shortest list, with the most identifiable ingredients.

This is a great example of how studies based on food frequency questionnaire are so unreliable and inaccurate. Lasagna and burgers are considered "meat" meals, but meat actually makes up a tiny portion of the calories from that meal...

The burger patty is literally the healthiest, most nutritious thing in the image. And no, I am not saying we should all ONLY eat burger patties, but I am trying to point out that we're hearing the wrong narrative.

so is meat the problem? What do you think.

12/13/2024

It is widely agreed that animal source foods are the most bioavailable sources of protein (eggs, milk, meat, fish, and poultry).

By serving size, calorie for calorie, and by volume, these foods are superior to plant foods at delivering nutrition in an easily digestible form.

Since most of us are not looking to increase our overall caloric intake, getting more protein from meat vs. plant-based proteins might be smart.

For example, you would need to eat nearly 3 1/2 cups of broccoli in order to get the same amount of protein in just 2 ounces of beef.

Most people are not interested in less protein and more calories for their health goals, but this is what you get when health experts tell folks to eat less meat.

The real problem? Our overconsumption of ultra-processed foods.

Instead, why aren't health experts and our government recommending that we stick to more “natural” foods, which our bodies have been designed to thrive on? And environmentally, foods like pasture-based meats, sustainable seafood, healthy fats, organic vegetables, and fruit, can lead to a much healthier population, and save the planet as well.

Did you find this post helpful?

If so, liking and sharing it can help others, too!

12/11/2024

Ruminant animals like cows eat food we can't eat on land we can't crop and turn it into the most bioavailable, nutrient-rich food!

How amazing is that?? Share this post if you learned something new.

12/09/2024

Let's share some meat love today. Choose your favorite and share it!

Let me know any other favorite meat mantras you have in the comments!

Address

Concord, MA

Website

http://www.sustainabledish.com/

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